Vaguely Familiar
by angeliclin
Summary: Haley James had a high school crush on the star basketball player, but when he turns out to be her new boss a few years later, does all her old feelings resurface?
1. Oh My Gosh!

Ch. 1  
  
'Oh my gosh!' thought Haley as she walked into the luxurious office. 'It can't be!' But it was. Realizing that her jaws were dropped from the shock, she told herself to get a grip. She slowly took a deep breath and released it. Unfortunately, she couldn't help but feel as if she was going to faint.  
  
Looking up from the manuscript in front of him to the sound of breathing, he saw a petite female with auburn hair that just barely passed her shoulders. She had a shocked expression on her face but before he could even question her strange facial expression, he saw her crumple to the floor. Rushing to her side, he was able to steady her before she fell.  
  
Mmm...the jasmine smells invaded his senses as he carefully lifted her up and placed her on a large brown couch. Then he elevated her feet before going to buzz in his personal assistant. After no one responded, he realized that the person in front of him must be his new personal assistant. Quickly he went to retrieve some smelling salt and a wet rag from the secretary in the office next to him.  
  
Once again, he was in front of the stranger. Putting a wet rag on her forehead and the smelling salt to her nose, he intently watched the person in front of him for any signs of movement.  
  
Haley stirred when she inhaled the smell of salt. Fluttering her eyes open, she saw a fuzzy image of someone who looked vaguely familiar. 'Holly crap, it is him!'  
  
The concerned look on the blonde haired man caused her to babble her apologies. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I just fainted. That never happened to me before. Not even once. Well there was this one time I was almost going to faint, but that was when I was eight so I don't really count that since I was extremely young. Besides, who wouldn't faint at the sight of a tarantula? No one would. But I still can't believe that on the first day of work, my boss had to rescue me. Who would have-," Haley stated without skipping a beat.  
  
"Whoa! Can you please slow down for a second?" he laughed. "So I was correct in assuming you're my new personal assistant. Now that I know who you are, can you at least tell me your name?"  
  
"My name?" Haley mumbled.  
  
"Yeah. You do have one don't you?"  
  
Blushing from her lame response, she stated, "Yeah...yes...It's Haley. Haley James."  
  
"Well Haley, you don't mind if I call you Haley do you?" Seeing her shake her head no, he continued, "My name is Lucas Scott."  
  
"Nice to meet you Mr. Scott." Sticking out her hand, Haley waited for her boss to shake it.  
  
Trying hard to not laugh at her attempt to keep things formal, he smiled. "Call me Lucas. Mr. Scott sounds a little impersonal don't you think? Besides, we'll be getting to know each other really well."  
  
Feeling weird about calling her boss by his first name, even though she already knew who he was, she couldn't help but give him an honest answer. "I don't think that I..."  
  
Wondering why she found it difficult to call him Lucas, he decided to fix the matter. "Look. You said I could call you Haley so it's only fair if you call me Lucas. Do we have a deal?"  
  
"I don't know..." Haley began.  
  
"Well part of the job description states that you have to call me by my first name."  
  
"Really? I never hear of that before."  
  
"That's because I just made it up."  
  
Cracking a smile at his abilities to trick her, she couldn't help but accept his so call "terms". "Fine."  
  
"Great. Now that's what I like to hear. A compliant assistant always keeps her job longer. I think you'll last a month. I would be impressed if you do so though since the last one only lasted a week."  
  
A horrid look on her gentle features caused him to laugh once again. She sure was able to make him laugh a lot and brighten the bad day he'd been having.  
  
"Sorry, I was just teasing you." Seeing the doubt in her doe eyes, he reassured her, "I'm serious. My last personal assistant left because she's expecting and decided to become a stay at home mom. I can give you her number if you want to confirm it."  
  
Feeling relieved, she shook her head. "What did I get myself into?" she asked herself, but realized that she said it out loud. "Oh my." Gasping, she covered her mouth and then uncovered it. "I'm so so so sorry. If you want to fire me on the spot, I totally understand."  
  
"What? And not have someone to laugh at during my long days at work. Never!"  
  
Seeing the twinkle in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel the familiar flutter of a love bitten high school girl. Plus it was easy since the guy or should she say man who she had the hugest crush on in high school was standing right in front of her, only he didn't recognize her or knew she even existed.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by his voice. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" 


	2. Mistaken Identity?

Ch. 2  
  
That was the last thing Haley thought Lucas would say to her.  
  
"Umm..." If she told him the truth, he wouldn't remember her anyways. Besides the star basketball player wouldn't pay any attention to who most people referred to as "Tutor Girl."  
  
"I...I don't think so." Haley allowed the lie to slip out her mouth. Haley James was lying and it wasn't just a small white lie. It was the mother of all lies. Hopefully he wouldn't remember her, which she highly doubted would happen.  
  
"I'm probably mistaking you for someone else," Lucas replied. Still looking into her beautiful eyes, he asked, "Do you think you can sit up?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so."  
  
Lucas carefully helped her sit in a comfortable position on the couch. "Can I get you anything?"  
  
"No thank you."  
  
His genuine concern and kindness caused her to start falling for him all over again; something she vowed she would never do. As embarrassing as it was for her to admit, it took her about two years after she graduated from high school to forget about him. Of course there were times when she started thinking about him again because something would remind her of him, but it only occurred occasionally at the strangest times.  
  
But she thought she was over this never ending cycle of liking him and not liking him. She thought she was over him, but apparently he was still able to stir up some feelings she never had felt for anyone else. It's been seven years since the last time she'd seen him and why was she even contemplating this? 'It's over. I'm over it. Yeah...if I keep telling myself this, it will happen. It has to because no matter what, he's my boss and there is no way he would even become interested in me romantically.'  
  
By the time she sorted out her thoughts and made a promise to herself that she would keep her relationship with him strictly professional, she glanced up at a preoccupied Lucas, who once again was holding a manuscript. Relieved that he wasn't gawking at her zoning out into her own little world, she stood up. "Mr. Scott...I mean Lucas."  
  
"Yes?" he smiled inwardly. She probably didn't realize that he did see her stare off into space in the corner of his eyes. She would definitely make his days more interesting.  
  
Placing her hair behind an ear, she asked, "Do you have any tasks you want me to complete?" The sooner he assigns her some errands to run, the sooner she could get out of the room.  
  
Laying down the manuscript, he opened a narrow drawer in his desk, pulling out a cell phone. Walking towards her, he handed her the phone. "Actually, I want you to take the day off. Here's a phone that I will contact you at whenever I need you."  
  
Taking the phone from him, she replied, "But I can't take off on my first day of work."  
  
"You can and you will." This is a good sign that she must be a reliable worker who has strong work ethics. "Besides, you just fainted. No assistant of mine is going to work until she is healthy and feeling well."  
  
"But..." Haley trailed off.  
  
"But nothing. You're going home and getting plenty of rest. By the way, do you know what caused you to faint?" Lucas asked wondering what in the world would cause her to do so the minute she stepped into the office.  
  
"I'm not sure," she replied meekly, knowing full well that he was the very reason. But it wasn't possible for her to say, "You're the reason."  
  
"It's doesn't matter as long as you feel better." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I forgot to mention that we're leaving tomorrow for California. I have a seminar to attend there so pack your bags for a three day stay."  
  
Haley couldn't believe her ears. She just started the job and all of the sudden, she already had to leave the state the following day. "I'll send for a car to pick you up at 8:00AM."  
  
"I'll see you then." Haley turned around, quickly leaving the room. When she was a few feet away from the door, she said, "I almost forgot to thank you for your help."  
  
"You're welcome." His eyes stayed trained on her until she walked out the door.  
  
--------  
  
A driver rang the doorbell to a small, but modest apartment. Upon hearing the ring, Haley opened the door after looking through the peephole.  
  
"Miss James. May I take your bags?" the proper middle-aged gentlemen questioned.  
  
Haley pointed to the luggage next to the door, "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome mam," smiling, he picked up he suitcase and carried it to the car with Haley right behind him.  
  
The driver placed the item in his hand on the floor and then opened the door for Haley before shutting it and putting the bag in the trunk of the black Mercedes.  
  
Haley sat down, only to realize that her boss was sitting right next to her. "Oh...hi." After hearing how that sounded, she cringed.  
  
"Don't sound too excited to see me," Lucas joked. 'I need to thank whoever hired her for me.'  
  
"Sorry," Haley replied, feeling weird that she didn't have the strong urge to make fun of him back. Growing up in a large family brought out the witty side of her. If she didn't come up with smart comebacks her siblings would have eaten her alive.  
  
"Look Haley. Can I be upfront with you?"  
  
"Of course," nodding her head, her eyes drifted to her hands. She hated confrontations; especially if it was with someone she hardly knew.  
  
The sight of her uneasiness made him say what he had to quickly, "I know that we just barely met, but you're my new personal assistant. We'll be working together all the time and I hope that you'll feel comfortable enough to be yourself around me. I mean, I don't scare you do I?" He hoped he wasn't the reason for her timid persona. Maybe she's the type of person who's shy when she first meets someone. Hoping that was the case, he anxiously awaited her reply.  
  
As if she read his thoughts, she confirmed it. "I'm not scared of you." 'Well I am but not for the reason you think I am. Just don't remember who I am and I'll be fine.'  
  
"Good. I was hoping I didn't. I'm glad that's settled." His huge grin caused Haley to smile as well.  
  
Thinking that if she didn't start to relax around him, she wouldn't feel comfortable working for him. So that was what she decided to do. She would try to be herself as much as she can around him. It wasn't as if she was trying to hide who she was, but it took time to open up to people; for them to see her for the person she was. Not many people are able to be that patient. Hopefully he was willing to wait. And if he was lucky, he may see the side of her many people never see; the side where she would respond with a witty comeback so fast most people didn't see it coming or aren't able to respond. 'I guess only time will tell' she thought as she leaned back against the seat, enjoying the ride to the airport. She was glad her boss was once again preoccupied with yet another manuscript. Maybe the quietness and time to herself will allow her to relax a bit before they arrived at the airport and hopefully after the plane ride. 'If that was the case, maybe I'm not making a mistake in accepting this job.' 


	3. An Uncomfortable Situation

A/N: Thanks everyone for the kind reviews. Please keep it up. So without further ado, here's the next chapter.

Ch. 3  
  
Walking into the hotel suite, Haley was in awe. The living room was larger than her apartment. Rushing to look at her room, she noticed two. "Why would there be two bedrooms?" she asked herself out loud.  
  
"Because one is for you and the other one is for me," Lucas answered for her, waiting to see what she would say next.  
  
"Oh," replied Haley, disappointment evident in her voice. She didn't like the idea of being in such close proximity for the entire trip. Spending what she thought would be about an eight hour day was bad enough. She didn't know if she would be able to keep her feelings under control; feelings she was sure she no longer had for him or at least that's what she kept telling herself.  
  
"Oh?" repeated Lucas, not liking her response. Why was he constantly unnerved by her responses? He never let people's thoughts and opinions affect him before, with the exceptions of his biological father and his half brother of course.  
  
Once again embarrassed by her ability to put her foot in her mouth, she responded with, "I meant I thought we're going to have separate rooms." 'Why do I have to be so blunt with people?' Haley reprimanded herself.  
  
"We do."  
  
"I meant in separate suites," she explained, pushing back a strand of hair that fell to her face.  
  
"Gotcha. Well I always share the suite with all my personal assistants. It makes things a lot easier instead of having them come to me from another suite all the time or vise versa."  
  
"I guess that makes sense," she reasoned.  
  
"If you feel uncomfortable, let me know and I'll arrange the necessary changes," Lucas stepped closer to her.  
  
"No. That's fine." He wasn't even that close to her and yet she felt the heat rising in her body. Stepping back, pretending to continue her investigation of the rooms, she moved away from him.  
  
"Fine as in you'll stay because you don't mind or fine as in you'll tolerate the situation and stay?" Lucas followed her, to the disbelief and discomfort of his company.  
  
"The latter," joked Haley as she stopped walking and turned towards him, but she stated it in a serious tone with an expressionless face, causing Lucas to respond with, "You don't have to just because you think I'll be upset about it because I won't." But for some reason, he felt a twinge of something. Disappointment? Insulted? He didn't know and decided against analyzing his feelings any further.  
  
"How do you know what I would be thinking?" smiled Haley, causing Lucas to take in the fact that she pulled a fast one on him.  
  
"I can't believe you just tricked me. No one's ever been able to do that." Lucas was relieved that she was showing more of her true personality.  
  
"Well I guess I've won that match."  
  
"I guess so for now, but you better watch out because I'll get you back. You're just lucky that I'm such a cool and forgiving boss, otherwise I would have fired you on the spot."  
  
"You wouldn't dare. Remember what you said? You wouldn't fire me because you wouldn't have someone to laugh at if you did." He admired the spunk she had. So she wasn't as timid as she seemed. She had fire in her and he liked that.  
  
"I would respond to that but we really need to get to work."  
  
"Fine." 'Use that lame excuse.'  
  
"I heard that," Lucas was able to read her mind.  
  
"I...I didn't say anything."  
  
"Doesn't mean I don't know you were thinking." He smiled, surprised that he nailed her thought right on the money. He was able to tell by the shock in her eyes. "And it was not a stupid excuse."  
  
Haley's pulse skipped a beat. If he was able to read her when she said that, then what else was he able to read?  
  
"So what's my first task," trying to change the subject, she looked him in the eye, trying to show him that he didn't alarm her as much as he truly did.  
  
Shaking his head as she quickly changed the topic, he pointed towards his briefcase on the floor in the living room, "Well, I need to look through these manuscripts to give the final say in what will be published."  
  
"And what do you want me to do while you're doing that?"  
  
"Getting us some coffee would be great. I like mine black. You can order it from room service and charge it to my account."  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"And give me my schedule for the next three days. After that, I'll tell you the rest."  
  
"Consider it done."

-----  
  
Sitting down enjoying the mocha frappacino she was drinking after she was done reading Lucas' schedule to him, she glanced out the window at the amazing, but polluted view of downtown Los Angeles. 'Who would have thought that I would be sitting here working for Lucas Scott?' Haley James wanted to become an editor at the most successful publishing company. Unfortunately there were no openings, so on the recommendations of her parents, she took the job as an assistant to one of the head publishers in the company; the one and only Lucas Scott, although she didn't know he was even a publisher at the time. She hoped that in time, she would gain the confidence and respect from her superior and with a bit of luck in the future, a position as an editor. That was her wish anyways and when Haley sets her mind to something, she sees it through. No if and/or buts. Failure was never an option for her. And her current predicament made it more challenging for her to accomplish her goal than she first assumed.  
  
Life sure had a funny way of working out and this only proved it.  
  
Drinking the remainder of her coffee, she placed the empty mug on the tray, sighing from content. Then she got up and knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in," she heard a voice reply. Slowly opening the door, she asked, "Is there anything else you want me to do?"  
  
"Not right now," frustrated with the manuscript in front of him, he dropped it onto the dresser. "Umm...Is everything alright?" concerned, she leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms, not wanting to pressure him to talk about it.  
  
"Oh nothing. It's just that there's something off about this chapter and I don't know how to fix it."  
  
"Hmm...If you want, I can take a look at it."  
  
"Thanks for the offer, but I think I just need to take a break from work." Taking his black jacket off, he threw it on the bed, to Haley's dismay. Reaching for his tie, he loosened it and tossed it next to his jacket. Lost in thought on what to do with the story, he continued undressing. He began unbuttoning his long sleeve collared dress shirt when he heard the door close behind him. Rotating towards the door, he laughed at how he was so careless as to remove his clothes in front of her. He threw a hand at his forehead as to what she thought of him at the present moment. Opening the door, he walked out of his room and into the living room where she was sitting down reading a book. Cautiously walking towards her, he softly cleared his throat. "Aaa hum."  
  
Haley pretended to be engrossed by the book. "AAA HUM," he tried once again, this time louder. Gazing up at him, she apologized, "Sorry, I didn't hear you until now." Allowing her gaze to fall away from him and to the opened shirt, which revealed a lean, toned chest. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she was entranced by his build, not realizing she was blatantly staring. The examination ended when the owner of the body spoke, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I didn't mean to undress in front of you. So do you forgive me?"  
  
He couldn't help but think how adorable she looked when she was catching her breath. She looked away and simply answered, "Of course," as the apple of her cheeks turned to a soft shade of crimson.  
  
A knowing smile spread across his face as she became flustered with her behavior. "Thanks." He walked back into his room to change. Exiting the room wearing a white beater and blue shorts, he stated, "I'm heading to gym. You can stay here or do whatever you want while I'm gone. I'll be back in about two hours."  
  
Seeing more of his gorgeous chiseled body revealed in his workout clothes, she felt herself grow weak. She turned her attention towards checking her watch to confirm the time, nodding her head as she did so. "Sounds good. I'll see you around five." Watching him through the corner of her eyes exiting the suite, she sighed in relief when she heard the door click closed. "Haley, control yourself. He's just like any other man. I mean, he's cute but tons of guys are. Okay okay, who are you kidding, he's H-O-T hot."  
  
Hearing the door open, she turned to see Lucas entering, "What's hot?"  
  
"I was just saying that it's so hot in here." Pretending to fan herself with her hand, she asked, "Did you forget something?"  
  
Shrugging his shoulders, he meekly answered, "Just my phone. Feel free to turn on the air conditioner." He grabbed his mobile from the coffee table and approached the door.  
  
"Thanks. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
When the door slam shut once again, she slumped down on the couch in disbelief how she was almost caught talking about how hot she thought her boss was. Luckily for her, her quick mind went to work, narrowly escaping the huge embarrassment of telling him the truth. Exhausted mentally by the turn of events that day and physically from jet lag, she decided to take a short nap on the couch since she was too tired to walk to her bedroom. She fell asleep instantly, dreaming of the person who she was so adamant in forgetting about.


	4. Polite Conversation

Ch. 4  
  
Waking up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. Panicking, she quickly got up, but soon remembered that she was in a hotel room in California. But she wasn't in the living room. That meant only one thing. Someone carried her to her bed and there was only one person who it could have been. He was making a habit of carrying her to places. Not wanting to think about the bad impression he was probably getting about her, she got up and looked in the mirror at her disheveled hair. Retrieving a brush from her purse, she combed out the tangles. Taking one last look in the mirror to make sure she appeared decent, she walked into the living room.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked Lucas who was setting out some Chinese containers on the table. Her mouth began to water as he opened boxes that contained chow mein noodles, orange chicken and broccoli and beef.  
  
"It's seven in the evening," he scooped out some of the food onto a plate and handed it to her along with a pair of chopsticks.  
  
Taking the plates in her hands, she chattered, "Oh my gosh! Why didn't you wake me? You must have had a million things you needed me to do." Haley was embarrassed that she overslept. Taking a three-hour nap on the job wasn't in the job description. She hated being late and not fulfilling her duties in any of her jobs.  
  
"Don't worry about it. There wasn't much for you to do anyways. Besides, you looked so peaceful that I didn't want to disturb you, although I did carry you to your bed. I thought it's ten times more comfortable than this couch."  
  
"Thanks," she mumbled out of awkwardness. Inhaling the food in front of her, she released a heavenly sigh. "This smells great."  
  
"Don't just stand there. Grab a seat."  
  
The only available seat by the table was on the couch next to Lucas. Sitting as far away from him as she could without making it seem as if she was doing so, she placed her plate on the table. Grabbing some food with her chopstick, she started to devour the food as Lucas did the same. Both didn't talk but enjoyed the silence. After they weren't as hungry, Haley struck up a conversation, "So is Chinese food your favorite?"  
  
"Yes. How can it not be?" Lucas grinned. "What's your favorite?"  
  
"Macaroni and cheese, but Chinese food is a close second."  
  
"I could tell. You were salivating as soon as you saw the food."  
  
"At least I had a good excuse. What's yours for drooling while you were sleeping?"  
  
Lucas contemplated his accusation. 'Do I really drool?'  
  
"Yes you do and don't deny it."  
  
Shocked by her ability to read his mind, he remained quiet, not wanting her to realize that he didn't say anything. He didn't like this...her reading his mind that is. No one had been able to do this before and it scared the heck out of him that she was able to so and not realize it. But then again, it wasn't like she was reading his inner thoughts, which was definitely a good thing. 'Okay, good! I'm glad that's settled.' Looking up, he saw two chocolate orbs staring at him with concern. "Are you okay? You sorta spaced out on me for a second."  
  
Pushing the comment away as if it was nothing, he smiled, "Sorry. I must be more tired than I thought." Then he picked up his fork and began eating his food.  
  
"I'm glad that's the case." After savoring a few more bites of her dinner, she commented, "I just realized that you aren't using chopsticks."  
  
"So..."  
  
"Do you know how?"  
  
"No, but it doesn't manner. I can use a fork instead."  
  
"But eating Chinese food isn't as fun if you don't use chopsticks." Haley picked up the other pair of chopsticks still lying in the bag. Handing it to Lucas, she picked up hers. "So put your hands like so," Haley modeled her instructions. "You almost have it. Here let me help you." As soon as her fingertips touched his hand, she felt electricity run through her spine, but pretended like nothing was out of the ordinary. 'Must be the air or something,' she told herself. She knew how illogical it was, but she didn't care because she forced herself to believe it was true. "Great." She continued her instructions and not long after than, Lucas was using the chopsticks, not expertly of course, it was still early, but good enough.  
  
"Thanks. You're a great teacher. Have you ever considered working in that profession?"  
  
"Actually I have. I am always amazed at how much love, dedication and hard work it takes to be a teacher." She failed to mention that she was a tutor at Tree Hill high for four years and kind of knows what that felt like. She loved the challenge of helping the students excel in their area(s) of need and the smiles on their faces when she knows they had a better understanding of a topic.  
  
"I think you would be great at it, but don't you dare try to quit to become a teacher. I need you...your help that is." Upon hearing the compliment, she couldn't help but blush.  
  
They continued to converse about surface stuff like most conversations were between to acquaintances. The topics ranged from family and friends to hobbies.  
  
After they finished dinner, Lucas gave his trademark smile, causing Haley to feel lightheaded. "Well I think I'm going to head off to bed. I'm suddenly not feeling well. I'm probably still tired from jetlag."  
  
"Okay, but remember..."  
  
"Let you know if I need anything."  
  
Lucas remained silent for a moment before responding, "How'd ya know?"  
  
"Hmm...I don't know. You've only been saying it since the second I've met you."  
  
"Oh, right," he was once again relieved.  
  
"Well good night."  
  
"Night." 


	5. Inner Thoughts

A/N: I can never say it enough that you all rock. Thanks for reading and reviewing.  
  
Ch. 5  
  
The loud ring of an irritating alarm clock went off causing Haley to push the snooze button and pull the covers back up. A few minutes later, it buzzed again. 'Arrgh! Why do alarm clocks have to be so annoying?' Haley threw the white covers off her bed. As much as she hated waking up early, she was use to doing so her whole life, but it didn't mean she had to like it.  
  
Picking up the phone next to her bed, she made a phone call and then walked to the bathroom. About half an hour later she came out of the bathroom, freshly cleaned.  
  
A light knock on the door and the voice of a room service personnel reminded Haley that she made a phone call earlier. Opening the door, a male dressed in his black and white uniform rolled in a cart overflowing with food. He carried the tray and placed it on the table in the living room. Haley went to her room to grab her purse and handed him a five- dollar bill, thanking him as he left the room.  
  
Setting the food out on the table, Haley carefully poured orange juice into two glasses and coffee into mugs. Then she proceeded to knock on Lucas' door just as he was about to open it; both surprised by the other's presence.  
  
"Morning," Haley greeted, grateful that her voice sounded normal.  
  
"Morning," Lucas replied back in a husky morning voice as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was already changed into this suit. His hair was jelled into a spiky, but professional manner. "Mmm...something smells awesome."  
  
"Breakfast awaits," Haley gestured toward the food as Lucas followed her to the table. Taking a seat on the couch next to each other, he saw the mountain of food waiting to be devoured: waffles covered with maple syrup and strawberries, eggs, bacon, yogurt, bananas and bagels. Smiling appreciatively, he grabbed a knife and a fork. 'She sure was thinking ahead.' "You did a great job ordering breakfast," Lucas praised Haley, as they both began to consume the delicious food in front of them.  
  
-----  
  
"You conducted yourself extremely well at the seminar Haley. I was very impressed."  
  
Haley managed to thank him for his kind comments. Both went to their perspective rooms. Kicking off her shoes, she carried them while heading towards her bedroom. Relieved that the long, draining day had finally come to an end, she placed her shoes by the bed and changed into more comfortable clothes. Throwing on her pajamas, she went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.  
  
As she conducted her nightly routine, his voice entered her head. _"You conducted yourself extremely well at the seminar Haley. I was very impressed."_ Those two sentences threw Haley's world upside. It showed her that as the years passed, he still possessed a kind nature and a show of appreciation; traits she always admired about him the most. It set him apart from the rest of the male population and was her biggest weakness. She could never help but fall for "good guys". How was it that he was able to throw out all her senses?  
  
Her mind was constantly reminding her that he was **unattainable, the forbidden fruit**.  
  
He was her boss for heaven sakes! But her heart was not listening to her mind. It was as if both were battling to control her, leaving her in a state of utter confusion; the reason why she was a victim of insomnia for the past two nights. When she was able to capture a few hours of sleep, she was plagued by his presence in her dreams. Dreams – a place where the subconscious wills you to acknowledge your inner thoughts and desires. Dreams that were taunting her, telling her that it was the only place she would only be able to be with him. Waking up in cold sweats after tossing and turning in bed was not her ideal sleeping situation.  
  
Even as she walked back to her bedroom, her mind wouldn't halt for a minute. She laid down on her bed as her brain continued on overdrive. Never had she had it this bad, but never was she in such close proximity to him either. What was so special about him? He was just high school crush. An infatuation she rationalized. Who he was then may no longer be the person he is now. It was obvious during the meeting that his laidback personality about school did not apply in his career. He was able to handle himself with such confidence as the host of the seminar. He put in two hundred percent in everything he did when it came to his work. In a strange way, she was proud of him. She was working for a successful and well-liked publisher. All the editors she met at the conference treated him with the same respect he treated them with.  
  
Placing a pillow over her face, she let out a muffled yell. She was doing it again; overanalyzing her feelings, or lack there of, which only led her in circles. 'Stay determined' her mind reprimanded. Her determination to defy her feelings....err...not reminded her that she will maintain a boss-employee relationship with Lucas. Being friends with him was not an option. The reason was obvious. It would be her death sentence. Becoming friends with Lucas may risk him discovering that she lied to him. She would never be able to be an editor of the company her heart desired. And yet, something inside her was trying to tell her that there was another reason that she had to keep the relationship platonic. A reason she would not allow herself to contemplate. Not now, not ever.  
  
While Haley was in a trance, Lucas was taking a shower in his bathroom as his thoughts were spinning. Something about her was familiar. At first he thought he may have been mistaken, but the more time he spent with her, the more she reminded him of someone. But who? She denied the fact that she knew him. But for some unknown reason, this didn't sit well with him. He could have sworn he'd met her before. In a past life? Shaking his head at how ridiculous that sounded, he tried to remember. But why would she lie about it? She wouldn't. He could sense her innocent and honesty. She also had an aura around her. An inner spirit that was to be reckoned with once you got to know her.  
  
As he came out of the shower, a cotton towel wrapped around his waist as beaded water ran down his well-developed body, he began wondering if her boyfriend or fiancé fully appreciated her. He had and he'd only known her for about 48 hours. Although he didn't know for sure if she had a significant other, one thing was certain: a women like her had to have someone special in her life. She seemed like a person who would devote her heart and soul to a person she loved. Whoever that person was was lucky. He hoped he would someday find the right woman in his life.  
  
Moving towards the dresser, he pulled out a pair of blue boxer shorts. Throwing himself on the bed, he pulled out East of Eden by John Steinbeck, his favorite author. He needed a distraction from his work. It was rare for him to find time to read these days with his hectic schedule, but he decided to make time to read tonight.  
  
After a few hours passed, both individuals fell to a restful slumber. 


	6. Company

Ch. 6  
  
Three weeks had quickly passed since the seminar ended. Lucas remembered the last day of the seminar. Both he and Haley were so exhausted from the second day of the seminar and catching the plane right back to New York City, they slept during the entire plane ride. Although he had learned a little bit more about his assistant since then, they were the basic surface things that a stranger would have learned. Her little habits he couldn't help but notice. Like when she would arch an eyebrow when she was questioning what you were saying.  
  
It made him curious why she was so allusive. Did he do something wrong? Was he intimidating? He distinctly asked her that question before but to no avail apparently because she reverted back to the quiet, reserved Haley he first met. Well maybe not as quiet as before, but more so none-the-less. And why did this bother him? Hell, what in the world was she doing to him? But he didn't have much time to ponder this since the very person who was on his mind just entered the office.  
  
"Mr. Scott," she stated before correcting herself, "Lucas." She looked down at the mail she held in her hands before handing it to him, avoiding eye contact while doing so. Then she turned around and walked out the door to her desk.  
  
Lucas released a sigh as his shoulders hunched forward. Not wanting to dwell on the sensation he felt coil in the pit of his stomach, he continued to leaf through the paperwork in front of him. He was lost in his work, busy making changes when he heard his name being called once again by his assistant.  
  
Lifting his head, he met her soft gaze. She quickly shifted her brown eyes away. Following her wandering glance, he saw the person standing beside her. "Mr. Mason is here to see you."  
  
Mr. Mason looked at Haley from head to toe, taking in every shapely, feminine curve. Smiling devilishly, he stated, "Haley, please call me Kevin."  
  
"I don't think I would feel comfortable doing that Mr. Mason," emphasizing his last name so he would get the point. Haley was fully aware that he was undressing her with his watchful eyes. She felt naked. Uncomfortable. Like an item on display carefully being inspected.  
  
Lucas did not notice Kevin's action. He was too busy focusing on Haley. The urge to talk to her was tremendous, but he decided against it. Now was not the time to do so. Besides, he didn't like the way Kevin already referred to Haley by her first name when he hardly knew her. Secretly, he was glad that Haley felt the same way.  
  
"Well I hope that changes with time," he added with a wink.  
  
"I have to get back to work," Haley shivered inside. "Excuse me."  
  
Both males watched her walk out of the room. "So Kevin, what brings you here today?"  
  
"I'm just checking to see how you're doing."  
  
'Keeping an eye hoping I'll make a mistake is more like it' Lucas thought. Ever since Lucas had quickly risen to the status of publisher, Kevin had kept a watchful eye on him. For what reason, Lucas was never able to figure out.  
  
"I'm doing fine," Lucas responded. "How are you doing?"  
  
"Fantastic! Although the work load is never ending, I always manage to have some fun time."  
  
"That's great!" Lucas feigned interest. All he wanted to do was get back to the work he had or anything else, so long as he didn't have to be in the company of the person standing in front of him.  
  
"Since we haven't had lunch together for awhile, why don't we grab some now? What do you say?"  
  
Lucas knew that as much as he wanted to say no, he couldn't. "Sure."  
  
"I knew you'd see things my way. So why don't you ask Haley if she wants to join us." He stood there, waiting for Lucas to do as he "suggested".  
  
Lucas buzzed his intercom, asking Haley if she wanted to join them for lunch. Haley reluctantly agreed, sensing the need in her boss' voice for her to participate in their short outing. Grabbing her purse, she waited for the gentlemen to come meet her at her desk. 


	7. Unwelcomed Company

Sitting down at a table of a restaurant in the far corner, they waited for their order. "So Haley, do you like working for Lucas over here?" Kevin asked while placing an arm around Lucas' shoulders, looking intensely at Haley from diagonally across the table.

Wanting to keep the conversation brief, Haley responded, "I enjoy working for the company and for Mr. Scott." Lucas raised his eyebrows at hearing his sir name being used.

"I'm glad because if my buddy wasn't treating you right, I would have to hurt him," slapping Lucas playfully on his back, he gave Haley another irksome smile.

"Fortunately for the both of us, we are getting along rather well," Lucas answered, not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

"Good beca -" Kevin was cut off by the ring tone of a cell phone announcing an urgent call.

Lucas reached his pockets for his mobile. Looking at the caller ID, he greeted, "Hello. This is Lucas Scott." He listened for a moment before covering the receiver and offering an apology for having to step outside the restaurant. Kevin stood up to give Lucas access out of the booth and then sat down on the other side of the table next to Haley.

Cautiously, Haley tried to move away from him without him realizing only to be disappointed with him scooting closer to her. "So Haley, now that Lucas is away, you can honestly tell me how he is treating you?"

"He's a great boss. No complaints here." Haley tried to sound pleasant. Assessing the person in front of her, she couldn't help but wonder why a man whom many women would probably fall all over to meet would be so forward and unsettling towards her.

Running a hand through his slick black hair, he smirked, "You can have a job being my _personal assistant_.

"Thank you for the offer but I'm content with my current position working for Mr. Scott."

He leaned toward Haley, whispering seductively, "Well how about you go out on a date with me instead since you refused my earlier offer? Trust me, it'll be a night you'll never forget."

"I'm flattered but I'm not interested." Haley glanced around the restaurant. 'Why did they have to be seated so far away from everyone else?'

"Don't try to play hard to get." He placed his hand on Haley's thigh, running it up and down. "I know I'm irresistible."

Haley slapped his hands away from her as she moved closer to the wall. "Look Mr. Mason, I'm not interested," she used the sternest voice she could muster, as she felt her heart wanting to explode from disgust and fright.

"Is that so?" He moved to lay his intrusive hands on her once again only to be swatted away by his neighbor.

"Yes!" Haley told him firmly. She pursed her lips together, trying to hold down the temper that was mounting.

"Well I guess I have to try another tactic."

"Nothing you say or do will make me change my mind," she spat. "And if you try to make any advances towards me, I'll slap a sexual harassment suit on you so fast your head will spin."

"Look Haley," he snared in a malicious tone, "I didn't want it to get to this but seeing how you're trying so hard not to throw yourself at me, I'll make it easy for you." Leaning against the back of the booth, he countered, "I'm Kevin Mason, son of Larry Mason. You know, the owner of the publishing company, so if you want to keep your job or your precious boss to keep his, you'll do well to remember that! And if you try to mention this to anyone, especially Lucas, you'll regret it!"

Moving quickly away from her, he went back to his seat acting as if everything was fine and dandy. Haley looked up to realize that Lucas was approaching them to her relief. She couldn't believe what she just experienced. The monster sitting casually across from her had the nerve to blackmail her. Feeling helpless in a horrendous predicament, she remained silent '_Oh God! _What am I suppose to do?'

As Lucas approached the table, he apologized again for answering the call. Then he revealed that there was an emergency at his office, so he and Haley had to leave. Haley silently thanked whomever it was that called that allowed her to escape spending one more moment with the vindictive, arrogant and self-righteous jerk in front of her.

Kevin gave Haley a warning glare as she stood up. "I'm disappointed our lunch was cut short. Perhaps another time then?"

Lucas vaguely replied, "Another time." He threw some money on the table and then guided Haley out of the restaurant to his car. 'Good thing we took two cars.' He disliked Kevin. Not only was Kevin unfairly offered the position of publisher because his dad owned the company, he wasn't deserving of the role. Kevin's lack of work ethics and skills in the publishing industry left Lucas with the difficult task of handing both Kevin and his own workload. But for some reason, today caused him to dislike his co-worker even more.

"So what's so urgent that we had to leave before we got our food?" Haley asked in a concerned voice.

"I realized how much work I have to catch up on that I can't put aside for another minute. Sorry about cutting the lunch short."

"So who was on the phone?" Haley continued asking questions, curiosity evident in her voice.

"An important associate of mine." His mother sure had perfect timing. He was relieved he was able to find a perfect excuse to leave.

"Oh," Haley responded.

"Since we didn't have time to eat, let's grab something to go. What type of food are you in the mood for?"

"Hamburgers and fries."

Glad that Haley wasn't the type of girl who only ate salads, he smiled, "Then hamburger and fries it is."

Haley licked her lips in anticipation of the appealing greasy fast food they were about to pick up. Noticing this, Lucas instinctively wet his lips too. He couldn't help but notice how soft and full her mouth looked. With this thought entering his mind, he couldn't help but keep her in his peripheral view, looking at her as he drove while reproaching himself for doing so.


	8. Don't Do Me Any Favors

Ch. 8

Sinking into his comfortable chair after throwing away the trash from lunch, Lucas noticed the uncomfortable silence between him and his assistant still lingering. He decided now was a good time to ask Haley what had been eating at him. "Haley," he offered.

Looking up at Lucas' intense gaze, her heart picked up speed. "Yes?"

"I don't understand what I've done, but I really wish we could get over it. Friends," he pointed out clearly. Usually it came easy, as easily as breathing in the sweet oxygen surrounding him.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Haley began twirling with her fingers, wishing this was only a dream.

Exasperated, he questioned her logic. "Why not?"

"I like to maintain a professional relationship with my co-workers and boss." She gave a half smile while he frowned.

"I see. But I still don't understand why you wouldn't want to be friends with your co-workers."

"It's complicated." Haley sighed. He wasn't giving up on this notion. "I just think it's better this way."

"If you don't want to be my friend, the least you can do is tell me why." He knew he was pushing her for answers, but how could he not?

"I..you know what? Never mind. I'll be your friend if it makes you feel better but I'm not making any promises."

"Don't do me any favors," Lucas snapped back. Instantly embarrassed of how harsh that came out, he wanted to apologize but was too stubborn.

"Fine," Haley huffed, feeling tears that were about to fall, she stood up and walked out of the office back to her desk. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was on the verge of tears.

Lucas collapsed into his chair. Knowing he should walk start toward her and apologize, he told his body to get up, but he couldn't. He was never one to think clearly when he was upset. Trying to get his mind off what happened, he began making some necessary phone calls to his clients.

Haley sat down slowly replaying all the catastrophes that took place within the past two hours. Her day was spiraling into one of a soap opera. Forcing herself to stay until her workday ends, she consumed herself in her work. The second that it was five o'clock, she left the office.

Lucas looked at his watch. It was ten pass five and Haley still didn't stop by as usual to say goodbye to him. Putting on his jacket, he gathered his stuff. He walked towards the door, hoping to see Haley one last time before he went home. Upon seeing the empty desk, he made his way out of the building towards his car.

-------------

A soft gleam of light flowed through the blinds. Lucas groaned at his inability to sleep. His guilty conscience nagged him throughout the night and morning. Frustrated, he tossed the blanket over and climbed out of bed. Stretching briefly, he began pacing the room, hoping that the small amount of exercise will provoke him to fall asleep. No such luck.

After he almost wore the carpet thin, he reached for his phone and pressed number four on speed dial.

The ringing phone woke up Haley who barely fell asleep half an hour ago. She was going to give the person a piece of her mind for calling her at six in the morning.

"How dare you call at this hour!" she scolded into the receiver.

Lucas almost dropped the phone. Looking at his clock, he realized that he should have waited before he called her. "I'm sorry."

Instantly she recognized the caller's voice. "For what?" Although her voice sounded cool and collective, her heart began pounding violently against her chest.

"For calling so early." God damn it. Just suck up your pride and apologize to her.

"So you called me to apologize for calling so early. How nice of you."

Ignoring her bitter remarks, he explained, "I'm also sorry for acting so...irrational yesterday. I had a lot on my plate and I took it out on you. Would you please accept my apology?"

"Don't worry about it."

Why shouldn't he? He saw her blink and the shimmer of tears forming in her eyes when he made the spiteful comment. "I mean it, I'm really sorry."

Sensing the concern in his hushed voice, she released a sigh. "I accept your apology."

"Thank you. So since we're both up, do you care to join me for a cup of coffee? My treat."

"It better be," Haley laughed.

Relief washed over him upon hearing her beautiful laughter. "I'll pick you up in half an hour."

After hanging up the phone, Haley went to the bathroom to get ready. Glad that one problem was fixed, she needed to figure out what she should do about the other dilemma in her life. The guy disgusted her beyond the telling of it and the thought of her actually doing anything with him turned her stomach. Hopefully she wouldn't be seeing him anytime soon.


	9. Starting Over

Ch. 9

Waiting patiently in the long line, Lucas was glad he suggested that Haley find an unoccupied table, but not before he asked her if she wanted her usual coffee.

Haley waved Lucas over to the table she was able to grab. He cautiously walked over carrying a mocha frappuccino, black coffee and two croissants.

Sitting across from her, he broke the ice. "Why don't we start over?"

Putting her hand out, Lucas took it. "Hi. I'm Haley James. You can call me Haley."

"Nice to meet you Haley. My name is Lucas Scott, my friends call me Luke."

"So Luke, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a publisher at Mason Publishing."

Haley trembled at the mention of the name. "Are you okay Haley?"

"Yeah...it's just a little chilly in here," Haley stated.

Lucas took off his jacket and offered it to Haley. At first Haley refused, until she realized how useless that was, she accepted it and smiled in appreciation.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I happen to work for the same company but as a personal assistant to a publisher who likes to butt into everyone else's business," she teased.

"A real busy body?"

"The worst. I don't know how I put up with him most of the time."

"That's too bad. He told me he enjoyed working with you." Haley felt warmth crept up her cheeks at his admission. "But enough about this dreadful boss of yours; tell me more about yourself." Lucas took a sip of his coffee while waiting to learn more about his assistant.

"There's not much to know. I grew up in a small town. I went to a junior college for two years before transferring to a university where I majored in English. That's about it."

"What about your family?"

Haley picked at the croissant in front of her, suddenly not in the mood to eat. "I have five older siblings. I'm the youngest by seven years. What about you?"

Sensing that she didn't want to talk about her family, this time and the last time she briefly mentioned them, he allowed her to divert the attention to himself. "I'm an only child." He already revealed this to her, bur decided to tell her more. "Well, in my eyes at least. My mother raised me on her own after my biological father left her to play b-ball in college."

Haley listened in shock as he began to reveal his personal family history to her.

"Then when he went to college, he once again fathered a child, but this time he took responsibility for the newborn. He married its mother."

She placed a hand over his, knowing how much it hurts to feel unwanted. Her other hands were clenched at how a person can abandon his/her own child. _Despicable!_

"So what happened to them?" Haley wanted to hear him explain it, even though she heard about it growing up in the small town. Now she knew for sure that the rumors and gossips that surfaced in the small town they grew up in were indeed true, or part of it anyways. After all, all rumors are derived from a small kernel of truth. She was curious how much was true.

"They moved to the same town that I did when I was in the fifth grade. My half..." Lucas pulled his gaze away from hers, "...the other son was in the same grade. We're only a few months apart in age."

Wanting to throw her arms around him and take away all his pain, she restrained herself. Instead, she gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

The soft, loving touch stimulated Lucas's eyes to lock with his companion's. Although he managed a smile, his crystal blue eyes were now a darker shade – a deeper, lonelier color.

They sat in that position for a few silent minutes. "Well enough about me, what else do you like to do besides playing the guitar and the piano?"

Impressed that he remembered their last conversation, she answered, "I enjoy reading and singing."

"Will you ever grace me with hearing your beautiful voice and musical talents?"

"Trust me, it's nothing worth hearing. I just like to sing for fun in the privacy of my own home."

"And why would you want the world to be deprived of listening to a voice of your caliber?"

"First off, I have a horrible voice. Second off, how would you know if my voice was great or not?"

"I have a feeling. Besides, I'm Lucas Scott. I know everything."

"Uh-huh. I would argue that case but since I'm feeling generous, I'll let that one slide. What do you like to do for fun besides read and play basketball?"

Furrowing his brows, Lucas could have sworn he never mentioned playing basketball to Haley, but quickly banished that thought. Of course he must have told her, otherwise how would she have known.

"That's pretty much it. Nothing out of the ordinary besides hanging out with my friends."

"Same here. I also love watching movies. You can say I have a movie fetish."

"Fetish huh?" Wagging his eyebrows and revealing a goofy grin, he questioned, "What types of movies do you own?"

Slapping his arms playfully, "Not like that you sick pervert. Gosh! Men can be so gross. Are your minds always in the gutter?"

"Well you're the one who used the word fetish. What was I suppose to think?"

"Don't you know the other definitions for the word?" Sighing in exasperation, she stated, "Fetish is an object that has magical powers; like a talisman. It's other meaning is something that elicits devotion."

Feigning disappointment while smiling inwardly, he continued to play innocent, "Oh, in that case, Miss James, I also have a movie fetish. So we have two things in common – reading and watching movies."

"And our addiction for coffee."

"Don't forget the million of other people in America who suffer from the same illness."

"I can't forget them. What is our society coming to? We're slaves to our caffeine addiction." Both cracked up at the same time, causing people to throw curious glances their way, but neither cared.

"Maybe we should go into the invention field. You know, make a patch for people who are wired on coffee."

"That's not a bad idea. But then again, working with you as your assistant is already hard enough. I can't imagine spending twenty-four hours a day with you. That's what it would feel like if we went into this patch business." Haley couldn't resist poking fun at him. Although she prepared herself for his comeback, she wasn't ready to hear what he had to say next.

"That's a shame because we will be spending a lot of time together starting tomorrow."

Raising a brow, she brushed her hair back. "Really?" Trying to look unfazed, she kept her body upright.

"Yeah. We're trying to get a new client."

"I thought writers were the ones trying to get publishing companies to even look at their manuscript, never the other way around."

"A majority of them do, but in special circumstances, we try to entice certain well known writers to allow us to publish their books."

"So who is this new client?"

"Her name is Stella Shields. She's a successful romance novelist."

"I've heard of her but never read any of her books. So when do we start this project?" Haley gnawed her bottom lip.

"Today actually."

'Perfect, just perfect' thought Haley.


	10. Mandatory Meeting

_A/N: I love reading your feedbacks so please feel free to continue to do so. ;)_

Ch. 10

Heading towards the meeting, Lucas began explaining to Haley how he planned on enticing Stella Shields to join Mason Publishing. Haley listened to him attentively, amazed at his idea and more importantly, his motivation. The amount of respect she had for him continued to grow. She felt honored to be able to work for such an accomplished employer and decent human being.

When they walked into the meeting, Haley took her usual seat beside Lucas. When everyone sat down, Larry Mason spoke. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Mason looked confidently around the room.

Whatever else he said was lost to Haley because she was thoroughly inspecting him. This was the first time she'd seen him since her last encounter with his only son. She wasn't sure how a man could raise a son that turned out to be a reincarnated version of the devil. With that thought, she looked around the room to see if Kevin was there. To her relief he was not in attendance. Let's hope it says that way. Refocusing her attention back to the speaker, she wondered if the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

As her thoughts continued to wander, the meeting continued to proceed. Her mind was snapped back into reality when she felt heat course through her body. Turning to the origin of where she felt warmth, she noticed that Lucas was standing as he placed a steady hand on the back of her shoulder.

Bringing her eyes to meet his beautiful ones, he smiled, knowing her attention was on something else besides the meeting. He wondered what distracted her. Was it a man who caught her interest? Was he in this room? Quickly scanning the room, he realized it couldn't be someone in this company. No one was close to their age with the exception of Kevin. But she wouldn't be interested in a man like him would she? Not like he cared. It was just that she shouldn't be zoning out during an important meeting. It wouldn't present her in a positive light to the other important workers in the company. Hearing Mr. Mason clear his throat, he brought his attention back to the meeting.

Slightly embarrassed for his lack of focus, he pulled his gaze from the striking chocolate eyes and began, "Haley and I have the honor of persuading Miss Shields to join our wonderful company." After revealing his plan, he closed his speech by saying, "We won't rest until she signs the contract." Smiling he sat down.

"Wonderful Lucas. So..." turning towards his assistant who whispered Haley's name, Larry continued, "Haley, do you believe the plan will be a success?"

With wide eyes, Haley tried to say something, but nothing came out. All she could focus on was the curious pairs of eyes staring back at her, waiting for her to speak. Suddenly, she felt her body tremble as she felt her cold sweat trickle down her face. She couldn't hear anything but her own raspy breathing and accelerating heartbeats. Her mind was screaming at her to say "yes" but her mouth wouldn't listen.

As if she wasn't nervous enough, the object of her displeasure chose that moment to enter the room. He stood next to the doorway, leaning against the wall. His lethal undressing stare made her want to vomit, but she decided now would not be the best time. Becoming more nervous by the minute, she tried to take a deep breath, hoping that it would relieve her nerves. As she drew air, she felt a comforting hand her leg. Feeling the strength in him surge to her, she took a minute before managing to say, "Of course." Unfortunately, his hand continued to linger there, causing Haley heartbeat to quicken. Doesn't he know what his touch did to her? It was a distraction. An unwelcome one, or at least that was what she tried to make herself believe.

"Great! That's what I like to hear." Standing up, Mr. Mason stated, "I have complete faith that you two will make an excellent team. Now that we have conducted all the necessary business, this meeting is adjourned," before walking out the door. The younger Mason shot a venomous glare at Lucas before following his father out the door, explaining why he was late to the meeting.

Lucas wondered what he did this time to irritate the hell out of the rich brat. Deciding that it was a waste of time, he waited for everyone to leave the room before turning to Haley. "Are you okay?" Feeling the need to give her hand a gentle squeeze, he reached out before he saw Haley flinch slightly. That simple action made him regret his previous physical contact with her. If she pulled away from a hand contact, what about his placement of his hand on her soft thigh. Great Lucas, if you keep touching her, she might throw you a sexual harassment suit and with good reason. Touching a woman's legs without her consent is a major no no. What were you thinking?

"Why wouldn't I be?" Not realizing that she flinched when she thought she heard Kevin's voice outside, she prayed that he wasn't coming back into the room because he left something behind.

"Because all the colors in your face disappeared and you looked like you were about to puke." Or did you look pale after I touched you?

Ignoring his graphic comment, she gave him a reassuring smile. "What I meant was why wouldn't I be fine with you helping me." Overwhelmed with her stage fright and touched by Lucas' support, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Stunned by Haley's actions, Lucas remained silent for a moment because of the confusion. Did he imagine her flinching? She wouldn't kiss him if she didn't want any contact with him?

All these questions he asked himself quickly vanished as he saw Haley look at her entwined fingers. He treasured how adorable his assistant looked when her cheeks turn a soft shade of pink and she looks away when she became nervous.

Realizing what she just did, she was dismayed with herself. Trying to avoid any awkward silences, she said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Thanks for always coming to my rescue."

"You're welcome. I love playing the knight in shinning armor for _my_ damsel in distress," he winked.

Upon hearing the word my, Haley looked up, causing Lucas to hastily change what he uttered, "I meant to say a damsel in distress. Anyways, let's get to work."

Standing up, he walked towards the door, waiting for Haley to follow him before they slowly strolled side by side to Lucas' office.


	11. Working in Harmony

Ch. 11

Sitting down in front of Lucas' desk, she had a notepad perched on one arm and a pen in her hand. Lucas leaned back against his comfortable chair as his began announcing his ideas as Haley scribbled them down.

"Our first order of business is the initial meeting. We need to make sure we make her feel welcomed and at ease. As you probably already know, first impressions are extremely important because they leave a strong, lasting memory of a person."

Haley felt herself flush at the reminder of her first encounter with Lucas, well in his eyes. That had to be the most embarrassing moment in her life. Actually all the events she would rather forget about happened to her when she was around Lucas. Interesting. Maybe he was a jinx.

"We need to show her around the company and make it seem so irresistible that she'd be pleased to join our team of fabulous writers. Highlight the accomplishments. All we have to do is find a creative way to do so."

"What about creating a slide show? We can have music to go along with it and you can present it."

"That's a wonderful idea Haley." Pausing he frowned, "Since I'm not great with computers, do you think you can help me create the slideshow?" Giving her a pleading look, she feigned frustration before writing down the ideas. "Well I guess I can do that."

"Perfect. Thanks."

Just then, the phone rang. "Excuse me," Lucas stated before picked the phone up. "Hello, Lucas Scott speaking."

Haley pretended to be focused on the notes she took, when in reality, she was watching Lucas.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, but I don't think I can...okay. I understand." Lucas hung up the phone looking defeated.

Concerned, Haley asked, "What's wrong?"

Sighing, Lucas explained, "Stella Shields is coming to meet us in two days so we have our work cut out for us. I was told to go home to work on the project so I won't get distracted or lose any time on it driving to work and such. According to him I need to focus only on the project for now."

"Wow. That's hardly gives you any time to prepare but I know you'll do great."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. So are you ready to leave?"

"Leave?"

"Yeah. I need your help so we're going to have to work at my house. The order came straight from the top of the company, i.e., Larry."

Not this again she thought as she remembered the last time she spent so much time with Lucas. Giving him the best smile she could muster, she announced, "Oh yeah. I'm ready. Let me just grab my purse and I'm set to go."

"Great."

About half an hour later, they arrived in front of a large, beautiful beige colored house. The walk way was made of stone, with some plants and trees strategically located to provide color and shade to the land.

Getting out of her car, she saw Lucas standing next to his, waiting for her. "Wow," Haley gushed. "This is one beautiful house."

"Thanks. Let me give you the grand tour." Opening the door, he waved her to go inside first. Hoping she would like the inside of the house as much as she did the outside, he showed her around as he thought about what it would be like to share a home with her. Shaking the thought away, he continued his tour.

"I wish I had a house as nice as this."

"Well for the next two days, you can consider this place your home."

Haley liked the sound of that. Home. But this would never be her home. "We should start on slideshow now since we don't have much time. Where's your computer located?"

"Right this way," Lucas walked to his office. Turning on his dell computer, he gestured for Haley to take a seat. Then he came back a few minutes later, bringing another chair. Placing it right next to Haley, a little too close for her liking, he sat down.

Trying to not show how he affected her with his closeness, she focused on the screen in front of her. Opening up the slideshow program, she asked, "What should we include on the slideshow?"

Lucas suggested some ideas while Haley entered it into the computer. They continued working for hours until Lucas' heard his stomach rumble. Looking at his watch, he exclaimed, "I can't believe it's already nine o'clock! You must starving! Do you think you can continue to work on this on your own while I prepare dinner?"

"Of course, but I can help you make dinner."

"No, that's fine. You're my guest. I'll let you know when it's ready."

Whistling to himself while he prepared dinner, he set out the utensils. When he was about to tell Haley that dinner was ready, he sensed her presence in the room. Turning around from the dinning room table, he saw Haley looking back at him.

"Hey. I was just about to come get you."

"I couldn't wait especially since you made my favorite food in the world." Haley smiled in appreciation.

Pulling out a seat for Haley, she took it.

"What would you like to drink? I have 7-Up, Pepsi, Hawaiian punch, orange juice and water."

"Water would be just fine. Thanks."

Pouring himself and Haley a glass, he set it on the table and sat down.

"This is delicious. Thank you for doing this."

"It's the least I can do for all the wonderful help you've given me." They shared a smile as they enjoyed the dinner in front of them.


	12. Proving a Point

Ch. 12

After dinner, Haley and Lucas called it a night seeing how it was already 10:15 PM. "I think we deserve a reward for working so hard."

"How should we reward ourselves?" Haley asked. For some reason, Haley didn't think that came out right, but it was too late to take that back.

Lucas immediately imagined pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately, but that was definitely out of the question. Keeping his cool, he suggested another option.

"How about a movie night? I have a large collection of DVDs. You can even pick the movie."

"Sure, that sounds great," Haley answered.

When they reached the living room, Haley looked at the numerous DVDs Lucas compiled within the last five years. After a few minutes, she finally made her decision. "Do you mind watching Coyote Ugly?"

"Of course not. I love that movie."

I wonder why thought Haley amusingly as she put the DVD in the DVD player and sat down on the couch next to Lucas. Unfortunately for Haley, that was the only spot she could sit in order to get a good view of the plasma screen television.

As if he read her mind, "And if you're wondering why that is, it's because of the love story that takes place."

"I'm sure the fact that there are beautiful women dancing provocatively is another reason."

"That's always a bonus," Lucas smiled devilishly.

"Men!" responded Haley as she threw her hands up in the air. "Are your minds always in the gutter?"

"Not that I'm one of the _typical_ men you're referring to, but don't try to deny that women's mind don't work the same way."

"Depends on the woman."

"Well every time Brad Pitt's name is mentioned, I see women go on and on about how hot he is. I personally don't see what the big deal is."

"For one thing, he's extremely good looking." _But not as good-looking as you_.

"You just proved my point."

"But even you can't deny he's hot."

"Excuse me Haley, but I don't check out other men."

"Sure you don't," she raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

"I don't."

"What if I said that I think Andy Dick is sexy?"

Lucas almost wanted to gag. Haley thought Andy is sexy. That was just plain disgusting.

"Did you just say Andy Dick?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that."

"Hell yeah! At least Brad Pitt is decent looking but Andy Dick...only a blind person would think he's good looking."

Laughing hysterically, Haley confessed, "I'm the one who just proved a point."

"What point?" Lucas asked, confused.

"That you check out guys."

Embarrassed and amused that she was able to pull a fast one on him, he protested, "No I don't. I just...compare other guys."

"Uh-huh, sure," Haley teased. She loved the fact that he was the one blushing instead of her. It was priceless. She wished she had her camera with her.

"At least I'm not the one in love with Andy," Lucas teased. "But enough bantering for now. Let's get back to the movie."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're a sore loser?"

"No, but that's only because I always win. If there is one thing you should know about me, it's that when I want something, I don't stop until I get it."

Haley's heart lurked forward at that confession. She wondered if he ever had trouble pursuing a woman. Probably not. If the women in his life were smart, they'll grab onto him and never let go. That thought caused her to wonder if he had a girlfriend. He never spoke about any women in his life, but then again, they've never brought up the topic, not that she cared she told herself.

Reaching for a pillow cushion, she snuggled into a comfortable position, hugging the pillow close to her.

Both watched the movie in complete silence, but glanced at the other when he or she thought the other person wasn't looking.

When the movie ended, Haley got up and stretched. "Well thanks for the movie. I think I should head home now."

"Since it's so late, why don't you stay here," he continued before Haley had a chance to argue. "This way you don't have to drive back and forth between and we can spend more time working on the project."

"I don't mind the drive."

"I don't like the idea of you driving home alone at this late hour."

Seeing that there was no use arguing, she relented much to Lucas' liking.


	13. Staying Over

_A/N: This chapter is short, but the next one is twice as long. And things get a lot more interesting in the next chapter. Thanks again everyone for R/R. A special thanks goes to Tardychick06 for your consistent feedback. :)_

Ch. 13

Lucas showed Haley to his guest room. It was a little bigger than an average size room. The crème color walls provided the space with warmth and comfort. The bed was against the farthest wall, between two small tables. One side held books while the other had a pile of neatly stacked magazines.

"Here's your room."

Relaxing a little, Haley exclaimed, "I love how you decorated the room. The curtains you have up matches perfectly with the whole aura of the room. Maybe you should decorate my apartment."

Leaning against a wall, Lucas explained, "I don't think you would want me to do that since my mother was the one who decorated this room. She said that since I lack the skills in making a room look homey, she had to decorate the whole house for me," Lucas mimicked his mother so accurately Haley wanted to laugh. The way his face lit up when he mention of her showed Haley how close the two must be. "Anyways, you can help yourself to anything you like. If you get hungry or thirsty, don't hesitate to grab something from the kitchen."

Haley smiled and then a frown formed on her delicate face. "I don't have clothes to change into or a toothbrush."

"Don't worry. You can borrow clothes from me and I have an extra toothbrush in the bathroom," he walked out before Haley could say anything.

He came back with a long black shirt and a pair of gray pajama shorts. "Here you go. I placed a toothbrush and a clean towel in the bathroom."

"Merci." Haley accepted the objects, placing it on her new bed. "Let me know if you need anything else," Lucas ran his hand through his hair.

Nodding, Haley waited for him to leave the room before she went to the restroom to take a shower. When she got out, she changed into the pajamas. Putting on the shorts, she realized that even though they were probably the smallest ones Lucas owned, they were way too big for her. This was especially evident when the shorts kept falling to the floor every time she pulled them up and let them go. Fortunately, the shirt was long enough to wear it on its own.

She brushed her teeth and washed her face with water since she didn't have her face cleansers with her. Afterwards she laid in bed unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep. Frustrated after she exhausted all the sleeping strategies she could think of, she got out of bed. Making her way towards the kitchen, she saw a dim stream of light and heard muffled sounds. Walking cautiously towards the living room, Haley looked for any signs of intruders. Her panic faded when she saw Lucas sitting on the couch fast asleep with the television on.

Forgetting about getting what she came for, she quietly walked to Lucas' room and returned to Lucas' side. She carefully covered Lucas with the soft blue blanket. Standing there for a brief moment, she stared at how innocent and peaceful he appeared. Kneeling on the floor, she brushed a strand of hair away from his face. As she leaned forward to kiss his forehead, she noticed Lucas' lips curve into a smile as he muttered "Haley" in his sleep. Thinking about how sexy her name sounded from his lips, she beamed. Wait, was Lucas dreaming about her? Nah he co-. Suddenly she felt an arm pull her forward and a pair of lips instantly made contact with hers. Shocked, she didn't respond to the kiss at first but when Lucas deepened the kiss, she felt herself reciprocating the action. It ended as quickly as it started. Lucas' arm released her and he turned his body so that his face was pointed towards the couch.


	14. What are You Doing Up So Late?

Ch. 14

Trembling from the intimate contact, she felt her knees weaken. The idea that he would wake up any minute caused her to regain some strength. Trying to make a quick exit, Haley tiptoed towards the guest room, but was stopped by a masculine voice, "Haley?"

Sighing softly in frustration, she turned around. "Yes Luke?"

Rubbing his eyes, he questioned, "What are you doing up so late?"

Hoping that he was in such a deep sleep that he didn't remember what just happened, she told the truth, just not the whole truth, "I couldn't sleep so I was going to make myself some hot chocolate, but I changed my mind. I'm sorry about waking you up."

"No worries. Some hot chocolate sounds great right now." As he got up and stretched, Haley noticed that he was only wearing checkered boxers. She quickly lifted her uncomfortable gaze to his mouth. His lips settled on hers earlier with such eloquent finesse that she found herself yearning towards him, but restrained herself. If his kiss was that powerful when he was asleep, she wondered what it would feel like to experience it when he was awake. Stop thinking about that, nothing going to happen between the two of them she thought as she moved to the kitchen to fix the both of them some of the chocolaty concoction.

Although he was happy about spending more time with Haley, he was disappointed that he woke up from his dream. He dreamt that he and Haley were dancing on clouds. When the song ended, they shared an intense kiss. He could almost feel her lips on his. Never before had he experienced a dream as realistic as this one.

Heading towards the kitchen, he found Haley already reaching for a cup. As she did so, his shirt lifted up, giving him a good glimpse of her shapely thighs. When he first met her, he'd thought she was pretty enough in an ordinary sort of way, but not exactly the kind to stop traffic. Maybe the conservative dress suit she wore had fooled him because the truth was, she had a surreptitious glamour that crept up on a man and blindsided him when he least expect it. And seeing her wear his shirt in his lonesome house made him feel as if this was actually his home for the first time since he moved in. Even though he was slightly afraid of her ability to put these unfamiliar thoughts in his mind, he also experienced the need to get to know her even more.

"Why weren't you able to fall asleep?" Taking out the hot chocolate powder, he set it on the table and then retrieved a kettle. "Did you wake up from a nightmare?" He poured some water and set it on the stove. As he waited for the water to boil he looked for the marshmallows and whip cream.

Haley watched him in interest as she placed the cups on the counter. She loved seeing the domestic side of him, even though he was only making instant hot chocolate. "I guess it's because I'm not in my own bed," Haley admitted. Her subconscious was nagging her that there was another reason, but once again, she ignored it.

"Maybe drinking some hot liquid will help." Lucas placed the items he found on the counter next to the cups. Reaching for two spoons from the drawers, he handed one to Haley and held on to his.

"I hope so." Haley poured the power into the cups.

The screeching noise caused Lucas to turn off the stove. He moved toward the counter once again when Haley stepped back and diligently poured the hot liquid into the mugs. Working as a team, they placed some marshmallows and whip cream in and mixed their drinks. Taking a sip, Haley released a satisfying sound of approval.

Noticing that something as simple as hot chocolate made Haley happy, he sent her a roguish grin, which Haley failed to notice since she moved towards the small round table in the kitchen and sat down.

"You seem to know your way around the kitchen. What else can you make besides hot chocolate and the food of gods?" Realizing that Haley probably meant macaroni and cheese, Lucas laughed. Haley joined in.

Sitting down in the seat across from her, he revealed, "Not trying to sound cocky or anything, but I can make just about anything."

"Really? Does it run in the family?"

"Yeah. My mother is the best cook in Tree Hill."

"I can't agree more," Haley let slip. Wincing inwardly, she hoped he didn't pick up what she just said.

Giving her a peculiar look, Lucas asked, "How would you know?"

"I meant that I'm sure that your mother must be the best cook since you obviously inherited her talents."

"And you can tell just from my mac and cheese?"

"Of course. I'll have you know that I'm the expert when it comes to mac and cheese and yours comes in second place. Trust me that's no small feat seeing how I am the best mac and cheese food critic in the world."

His humorous side wanted to say that she seemed a little full of herself, he decided to stick with a safer comment to avoid the wrath of Haley. "Does your mother's come in first place?" Looking intently at her, he wondered if he guessed correctly.

Upon seeing the tears well in her eyes, he regretted even asking her. He should have stuck with the first thing that came to his mind. He moved to the chair next to her, "I'm sorry Hales. How inconsiderate of me. I should of known that talking about your family is a touchy subject."

She smiled slightly when he called her Hales but it disappeared rapidly. "Don't worry about it." Hoping that it sounded believable, she shook her head to give the appearance that she was fine.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I...I don't know if I can." A single tear ran down her face.

Lucas gently wiped it away. "Maybe not talking about it has only made it worse," Lucas suggested.

"That might be true but," her voice quavered, "how am I suppose to talk about the fact that my parents don't...don't...lo-...lov-...love me?"

Pulling her into his arms, she rested her head on his bare chest. How dare her parents make her feel unloved! No child should experience this. Encouraging her to let out her sadness, he breathed in the scent of his shampoo on her. It definitely smelled better on her.

His tender caress released all her defenses and she succumbed to the tears that had been threatening to spill for years. Allowing the tears to fall freely on his bare chest, he listened attentively to Haley's turmoil. "They were...were never around when I was growing up," she sniffled. "They love my older siblings more than they love me, that is if they even love me." Lucas pulled her in closer.

"Aren't parents _suppose_ to love their children equally?" She asked hoping Lucas had the power to wipe away all the pain.

"Yes they are," Lucas stated. "But sometimes parents aren't able to show it." He couldn't help but think about his biological father and Nathan. "Sometimes parents don't realize that they have favorites; that their actions affect us more than they know." Although he knew he can erase or fix her pain, he could try to ease it.

"I guess we both experienced the same thing huh?" she laughed bitterly. "Two peas in a pod I say but at least you have one loving parent. I wasn't so lucky." Immediately regretting what she said, she apologized. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought your family into this. They have nothing to do with this."

"Shhh," Lucas placed a finger on her mouth when she tilted her head to look up at him. "No need to apologize." He couldn't bear to have Haley watching him with those stirring dark eyes, dwelling on the things that made her ache. Wanting to take the pain away, he lowered his head towards hers.


	15. In a Matter of a Moment

Ch. 15

Suddenly Haley's mouth had gone dry in anticipation. Lucas leaned into her, reaching for one of her trembling hands. He drew circles on her palm with his thumb and gently kissed the same spot, branding his touch on her soft skin. Haley quickly forgot about her sadness, only able to concentrate on the man standing before her. Feeling herself about to buckle to the floor from exhilarating pleasure, she used every ounce of her fleeting strength to remain standing. The want in her eyes lured him into softly touching her lips with his. She closed her stunning brown eyes and he tasted the sweet, gentle warmth of a woman. His lips touched hers with such tenderness, Haley wanted to cry out of sheer joy. The kiss started out slow at first as they both took time to explore each other's mouths. Wrapping his arms around her petite waist, he drew her in closer. Haley instantly placed her hands on his broad shoulders, comforted by his silent strength. Gradually, the kiss intensified. Without breaking away, Lucas lifted Haley into his arms and walked towards his bedroom. With steady, cautious movements, he placed Haley on the inviting bed.

Breaking away from the kiss, both breathed heavily. Waiting for Haley to give her consent to continue, he received a nod and a reassuring, shy smile. Pulling off her shirt, or should he say his, he stared admiringly into her eyes. Haley inhaled a breath, sensing him looking into her very soul. He dropped the gaze to the rest of her body causing Haley to blush furiously. Enjoying the tinting of her cheeks, Lucas raised his stare back at her facial features.

Not wanting him to stare any longer and wanting to feel his body on hers, she placed a hand on his chest, stroking the spot with her fingers. Lucas groaned at the touch and lightly pushed her so she was lying on the bed. Climbing on the bed, Lucas placed a leg on each side of her. He urgently crashed his lips onto hers. Haley's tongue sought entrance and their tongues began a dance. When they finally came up for air, Lucas looked down on her face. She looked so beautiful, so innocent. Then he remembered what initiated this situation. Abruptly getting off the bed, he reached for his shirt that was lying on the floor. Turning away from Haley, he held it out to her.

"I'm _sorry_," Lucas whispered quietly.

Confused, Haley didn't take the shirt. Unclear of why they stopped, Haley began analyzing the situation. Lucas didn't _want_ her. He just felt sorry for her because her family didn't love her. Embarrassed that she even believed for a second that someone like Lucas would even be remotely interested in her romantically or sexually for that matter, she grabbed the shirt and ran out of the room, finding refuge in the guest room which was inconveniently located next to his. Locking the door behind her, she threw herself on the bed.

Lucas tried to check on her, wanting to explain the situation to her but found her door locked. Knowing that he screwed up even though he did the honorable thing, he returned to his room defeated. He'd have to wait until morning to talk to her since now wasn't the best time. For a few minutes, the entire house was still. Then Lucas heard muffled noises. Placing his ears on the sturdy wall that separated the two of them, he could hear quiet sobs. He positioned his hands on the wall, running it downwards. Wishing he could pull her close, he knew that he may never be able to again. The knowledge that he caused these tears tore at his very soul. Tasting moist fluid on his lips, he realized that _his_ Hales was not the only one crying.

How did everything spiral into a disastrous situation in a matter of a moment?


	16. Change of Plans

Ch. 16

Haley woke up to a semi-damp pillow. She must have cried herself to sleep and continued to do so as she slept. Suddenly all the memories from the previously night flooded back to her like a ton of bricks. Groaning, she threw her face onto the pillow. She wanted to weep but couldn't because she utilized all her tears. How was she suppose to complete the project with Lucas when she placed her heart on the line for it to be trampled upon? The need to sneak out of the house became more appealing each fleeting moment. As she quickly changed into the clothes she wore yesterday, she grabbed her purse and slowly opened the door. Looking out, she was relieved when no signs of Lucas was present. Quietly heading towards the front door, she tiptoed out.

As she saw the exit within reach, her eyes laid upon the project notes that were lying on the coffee table, taunting her. %#$! She remembered carelessly leaving the pieces of paper there the day before. It's punishment for not taking more care in keeping all the materials organized. Then she recalled that she didn't finish the project with Lucas. As much as she wanted to leave him there to do all the work himself, she couldn't since her conscience nagged her. Why couldn't she be like most people and live her life without thinking about others? Why couldn't she be like her parents? They obviously didn't have any concerns for anyone but themselves and their other children. Argh...she revealed her problems to Lucas. Her and her big mouth! Feeling like an idiot in more ways then one, she slapped her forehead.

Drawing in a long, slow breath, she tried to think of the best solution. She could either take the coward way out and leave, which she desperately wanted to do, or she could work on the project with Lucas. Striding towards the office, she turned on the computer and sat down. It was six in the morning. She decided instead of the two previous options, she would finish the project on her own and leave afterwards. As soon as she was able to open the slide show program, she got to work, not wanting to lose any time. Retrieving the program, she began entering the information using the other set of notes she had. Preoccupied with her work, she didn't hear the quiet footsteps.

Lucas leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, attentively watching Haley. Her hair was in a messy state, sticking to her face and pointing in all directions. Her unnerved hands were moving at a maniac pace. Focusing on the computer screen, she bit her bottom lip, squinting every so often.

Sensing his gaze on her, she froze for a brief moment before regaining her composure. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of thinking she felt anything for him or experience any emotions about the night before. Releasing a shaky breath, she turned towards him, staring him straight in the eye as she plastered a fake smile.

"Oh hi Lucas," Haley managed to say naturally, "I didn't realize you were standing there until a moment ago."

Lucas would have easily believed her if he didn't know any better. "I think we need to talk." The deep hurt in her eyes vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Yeah, I think we should." Haley continued holding her tough woman facade.

Surprised and elated, Lucas slowly walked over to the chair and sat down. "About last night..."

"Don't worry about that. I was emotional and luckily, you were the rational one who stopped us before we made a tragic mistake and regretted it afterwards. I wanted to thank you for doing that."

_Mistake_. Haley saw the obvious connection they shared as something that wasn't worth exploring. Unwilling to believe that, he hedged on. "I didn't see it as a mistake. It was just bad timing. You were hurt and I didn't want to take advantage of the situation. Hales, don't you know how irresistible..." He placed his hands on top of hers, only to feel her hands yanked out from under him as if his touch was smoldering her.

Why was he doing this to her? He was playing her heart like it was a fiddle and he was the musician. "Look Mr. Scott," Lucas furrowed his eyebrows, not liking where he thought this might be headed, "I think that you are reading way too much into this. I don't know where you think we stand, but I want to make it clear to you that you are my boss and I'm your assistant. That's all. End of discussion."

"I thought you said that we're friends." He hoped he didn't destroy the relationship he worked so hard to build.

"I never said we were. I agreed to start over. Besides, I was right about it not being a good idea for us to be friends. Developing a relationship outside of boss-employee causes complications," she rambled on. "Complications that I'm not willing to deal with. So let's just drop this conversation and continue the work on the assignment."

"Complications as in I'm developing feelings for my boss," giving her a hopeful look, he felt his heart thump against his chest.

She ran a hand through her hair, hoping she looked as put together as she tried to act. "Please, I was 'emotional' as you delicately put it."

Cutting to the chase, he asked, "Do you always run away from your feelings?" He wrapped his arms around her.

Not moving away, her wit answered back. "Are you always this annoying?" Then she wiggled free from his grasp and stood up.

Pursuing her closely, he inched towards her as she backed into the wall. "Only when I want something. And I want you. Remember what I said about getting what I want?"

How could she forget? It was engraved in her memory. _"If there is one thing you should know about me, it's that when I want something, I don't stop until I get it." _

Placing his hands on each side of her shoulders, he blocked her escape. She braced herself from his closeness by putting her hands on the wall as she leaned back. She laughed a little, the sound broken and bitter. "Well that's too bad because I'm not available. Not that it's any of your business. I almost forgot to mention that I'm giving you my two weeks notice and it starts today."

"I'm not accepting it." She felt his hot breath on hers, causing her to almost lose her cool.

"What? You can't do that," she huffed. "I can quit as easily as you can fire me."

"Sorry to break this to you but under the contract you signed, you agreed to work for the company for one year. If you quit, you'll be breaking the contract and there are detrimental consequences that you must face as a result."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" She spat, "You take some sick pleasure in making me squirm."

"How can I not? You look so adorable when you squirm. And when you blush, it makes me want you even more." Pausing, he added, "Look Haley, I'm being honest with you here. I tried to deny what I felt for you ever since you walked into my office. But I can't control my feelings for you just as much as I can't help how I make you feel. And if you really didn't feel the same way, you could have easily escaped earlier."

"My conscience wouldn't let me. I didn't want to leave you in a dilemma, especially when you're not as knowledgeable as you need to be in making a slideshow. You know, slideshows aren't hard to make. You should get someone to show you how to make one."

"Great. Thanks for volunteering."

"How did I not see that coming?" she asked herself out loud. "Fine. I might as well since we need to finish this project. Now would you kindly let me go?"

Moving towards her, she naturally closed her eyes and licked her lips. He whispered into her ears, "For now," and sat back down on the chair. Closing her eyes and then reopened them, she didn't know how she felt about the answer. No, that wasn't true. She did not like it one bit. Plopping down on her seat, she began explaining how to create a slideshow.

Afterwards, Lucas thanked Haley. He told her she could take a break while he checked his e-mail. Seeing that he had three new messages, he opened the first one. He clicked on the attachment. Suddenly the computer screen turned black.

"What the %#$!" Lucas exclaimed in shock. After repeatedly trying to push the power button and every single key on the keyboard for several minutes, he gave up.

Haley came back in, finding Lucas' head on the desk. "What happened?"

Lifting his head up, he explained, "Nothing. Just that this damn computer isn't working."

"What!" Scrambling towards it, she tried various strategies to get the computer to work. The screen remained dimly black. "What happened?"

"I opened an attachment and the screen went black."

Upset that they lost all their hard work, she spoke without thinking. "Don't you know that you should be careful about opening attachments?" Seeing him shake his head no, she continued, "So many kooks out there live such a pathetic life that they have nothing better to do than create viruses and send them out to people."

Feeling horrible about making Haley redo the entire slideshow, he looked at her, waiting for what she would say next. "Look, it's not your fault. Mistakes are bound to occur and there are new viruses being created all the time. Next time you open an attachment, make you trust the person who sent you the e-mail and scan it to make sure there are no virus threats. This is partially my fault. I should have remembered to save the file onto a zip drive or a compact flash card."

"I'll just pretend I know what you mean by zip drive and compact what-cha-ma-call-it."

"It's..." Haley began before Lucas cut her off, "Let's save that lesson for another time. Right now we're talking about how computers majorly suck ninety percent of the time," Lucas tried to lighten the situation with a true statement.

"Exactly. It's a conspiracy I tell you. They're plotting against us. Watch your computers. It's up to no good."

"It's evil. EVIL!" Haley resisted the urge to crack a smile. How can he make her mad one moment and want to laugh the next? Although she didn't want to say this to him, she offered, "Seeing how your hard drive is probably fried, we need to use another computer. I guess we can work on this at my house."

Lucas walked towards the door before turning around, "I need to pack a change of clothes just in case we stay up all night working and I don't have time to come back here and change."

"Okay," she replied indifferently. "I'll meet you in the living room when you're done. I'll bring all the notes."

Smiling, Lucas responded, "Thanks for saving this project," and continued walking to his bedroom.

"You're welcome." Frowning, she asked herself why she was always ending up in situations where they were sleeping in the same area. But it didn't matter because she had her mind set on sticking to her promise of conducting their relationship in a professional manner. And she always kept her promises, no matter what.


	17. The Right Woman

Ch. 17

Lucas hadn't been able to find the _right woman_. It seemed as if numerous women enter his life, but none were able to capture his attention for long. All of them lacked certain characteristics he was looking for. What they were, he didn't know. Always hopeful, he thought he would eventually find the person he wanted to share his life with. A _home_. A _family_. Those were the only voids in his life. That was until now. He never thought that the person who was a perfect match for him would be passionately against the idea of them being together.

_Passion._ Haley definitely possessed heated passion. The explosive kisses he shared with her were both gentle and intense, matching the ones in his dream. He wanted to taste her lips again, but knew she would refuse even if she desperately desired to do so. Her stubbornness was her defense mechanism, his obstacle. Lucas didn't understand why she wouldn't want a relationship. He understood her hesitancy in view of the fact that he was her employer, but he sensed something more was driving her away from him. Determined to find out, he set a goal to figure it out as soon as possible.

He started by convincing Haley to drive both of them to Denny's before going to her place. They needed their strength if they wanted to work throughout the day redoing their presentation. Overcome by hunger, Haley relented. It'd been weeks since she'd ate French toast covered with powdered sugar and drenched in sweet maple syrup.

When they arrived in front of her apartment, she unlocked the front door. Before entering, she suddenly stopped and said over her shoulders, "Just so you know, this place is extremely quaint and it's such a mess."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not one to judge," adjusting the strap of the duffle bag on his shoulder, he continued, "Besides, I like quaint, intimate places."

Scanning the apartment, he teased, "It looks like a tornado swept through the inside of your house."

"Ha ha very funny," Haley remarked, not wanting to leave Lucas with any hopes of them being friends or...

"All kidding aside, this is a nice place you have here."

Shrugging, she just pointed to an area next to the wall. "You can put your bag there. I'm going to the get my laptop. Go ahead and help yourself to a drink in the refrigerator."

Lucas walked to the kitchen, grabbed two cups from the cabinets and placed them on the counter. Before opening the refrigerator, he walked through the living room and through the hallway. Seeing an open door, he knocked lightly, making his presence known.

Turning around from her seat on the floor, she hastily pushed something under the bed. Wondering what that was but not wanting to give the impression that he was nosy, Lucas decided to not ask about what she seemed to be hiding from him, not that she would hide anything but her feelings. "Do you want something to drink?" His eyes swept the room, taking in the rich blue walls and beautiful paintings. A bookshelf was in the far corner, filled with a large variety of books, many he recognized and others he'd heard about.

"Water would be great." Lucas nodded, making Haley uncomfortable that he was still in the room. "Do you mind getting me some now while I change? I feel filthy wearing the same outfit two days in a row."

"Oh, right. Sorry." He stumbled out, escaping as if he was a child caught seeing something he wasn't suppose to.

Closing the door behind him, he headed to the kitchen. As he was getting his drinks, he couldn't help but think that Haley was trying to conceal an object from him. What could it have been? She informed him that he needed to change. Feeling the heat rise to his face, he realized that she was probably holding a piece of undergarment and accidentally dropped it on the ground. It would have been embarrassing to have someone barge in and see you holding your unmentionables, but it wasn't like he hadn't seen them already...

While Lucas was retrieving the drinks, Haley walked to the door and closed it. Her pulse was racing and she could feel her entire body almost shake. She was so worried that Lucas might have walked into the room and notice the very thing that would reveal her true identity that she tried to hide it. The one she'd been conceal from him since the day she walked back into his life or more correctly, the day he reentered into hers. Treading slowly towards the bed, she crouched to the floor. Her hands made contact with the item in question. The gold emblem of Tree Hill High School on the yearbook gleamed brightly in the sunlight entering the window. Briefly tracing the letters with a finger, she thought about what the yearbook held – evidence of their past forever captured in a horrible senior picture of her and a handsome photograph of the star Raven basketball player. The guilt gnawing at her conscience made it unbearable to look at the pictures so she slipped it back underneath the bed, a place where Lucas wouldn't dare to look. Then she quickly changed into another ensemble.

Keeping a firm grasp on the laptop and the notes, she placed both on the coffee table and plugged in the cord for the laptop. Lucas handed her the water watching her take a sip of it while he drank his 7-Up. Without skipping a beat, recreated the same slideshows making some minor changes. Feeling left off of his own project, Lucas sat back watching Haley in earnest until he couldn't stand sitting there, not helping. He wasn't the type to sit around while others did the work.

When Haley released the mouse, Lucas reached for it. "If you don't mind, I would like to contribute to the presentation. I don't want you to have to do all the work."

Not taking her eyes off the screen, she answered, "That's nice of you to be concerned but you don't have to be. We both contributed to equally. I thought that since we practically finished it already, all we have to do is recreate the slideshow with some changes. It'll be easier if I just do the computer work."

"Don't you mean faster?" The anguish in his sorrowful eyes was evident. "That's why you're working like a madman. Do you think I'm so naïve that I don't know what you're doing?"

"It's not," Haley began only to be cut off, "Then what is it? God James, I don't know what to do here." Tightly clenching his hands, he invited the sharp pain. "You're killing me with your act of indifference when I know that I have an effect on you - that you have an effect on me. Don't deny it."

"Look, I...we're not going to get into this again. I thought I made myself clear earlier. We were doing perfectly fine since I told you my decision."

"You must really be doing a number on yourself if you were able to make yourself believe that."

Exasperated, she grumbled, "When are you going to believe me when I say I have no feelings for you? What can I do to prove it to you?"

"Kiss me." His face was set in a serious tone.

Horrified that her body wouldn't react the way her mind would want it to, she gasped, "What?" There was no way in Hell that she would let his succulent lips touch hers again.

"If you have no feelings for me, then it's just two pairs of lips touching. If you kiss me and I sense that you have no feelings for me, then I'll leave you alone."

"And what if I don't want to?"

"You don't know what you _want_."


	18. Don't

Ch. 18

Before Haley could argue, a finger placed on her lips quieted her. The warmth it provided when he traced the curves of her lips sent her into a state of ecstasy. As he stared admirably into her chocolate orbs, she was lost in his crystal blue depths. The sizzling heat hadn't gone unnoticed by either as his hands tilted her chin upwards, providing him with open access to kiss her with desperation, need and tenderness. The experience was overwhelmingly new and exciting. Staying strong, Haley remained motionless, allowing Lucas' mouth to roam hers without partaking in the exploration. Stimulated by the challenge, he intensified his declaration of emotions, knowing she would eventually succumb to the feelings. He was rewarded with a soft purr escaping her lips as she clutched his shirt, bringing their bodies together.

Suddenly, she shoved him away from her, causing him to lose his balance and come crashing to the floor. Haley turned back towards the computer, acting as if nothing happened.

"#%$!" Lucas yelled, his face blood red. "What was that about?"

Silently she reprimanded herself for pushing him so hard. Focused on resisting him, she hadn't realized the amount of strength she exerted.

"I told you I didn't want to kiss you," Haley informed him casually, causing Lucas' anger to rise. He abruptly stood up, his chest rising and falling to a frantic pace.

"Don't shove me that B.S. I felt the connection between us. There's no denying it. The sooner you admit it, the better off we'll both be." He didn't know how much more of this he was able to take.

"I'm sorry if you felt something I didn't feel."

"Then why did you _purr_ like a kitten when I kissed you?" Even in an angry state, his voice sounded husky to her ears.

"It was an act to teach you a lesson for going against my wishes," pursing her lips, she continued to work.

"You're not that good of an actress."

Briefly meeting his saddened eyes, she stated, "Apparently I am if I was able to fool the almighty Lucas Scott." It took all her strength and energy to pull away from him, more strength than she thought she possessed.

"Don't..."

"Don't what? Don't tell you the truth? Don't tell you that for the first time in your life, you're not going to get the girl? Well I'm sorry to break it to you honey but there's always a first time for everything."

Mentally preparing herself for a well-deserved remark, she heard none. Scream, hit me, do anything but stay quiet she wanted to scream. Those emotions she could deal with but the silence was excruciatingly unbearable. An audible click shifted her eyes to where he once stood, now devastatingly empty. Letting go of the breath she didn't know she was holding, she stared at the screen, lost in a trance, one she never wanted to wake up from.

Stepping into the meeting a few minutes before it started, she sunk into the comfortable chair. Lucas shortly followed, avidly talking to a strikingly beautiful woman, holding the same air of confidence he always exuded. Laughing at a comment he made, she lightly touched his arm, causing Lucas to grin widely. When he walked her to her seat, he pushed her seat in as they continued their conversation.

Haley watched the interaction between the lovebirds with distaste. Wondering whether this was a new member of the company, she continued to gawk at them until Mr. Mason walked in.

"Good morning everyone," Mr. Mason cheerfully greeted.

"Morning," everyone said in almost perfect unison.

"Today we have the pleasure of being graced by the presence of the lovely and talented beauty, Stella Shields." All eyes turned towards her. The men stared longingly at her as the women looked as if they wanted to be her. Looking unfazed by all the attention, she nodded in appreciation of the warm welcoming.

"I hope Lucas has been making you feel at home in our friendly company. If not, say the word and I'll fire him," Mr. Mason joked, making it difficult to tell whether he was serious or not.

Her large, light green eyes twinkled in laughter. "In that case fire him because I could always use him as my driver."

"Mr. Mason, I'm quitting the publishing firm so I can work for Stella."

"Not until you present your slideshow Lucas," he smiled, immensely enjoying the fact that things were going well with the potential client.

"As you wish," Lucas stated as he stood up and walked to the front of the room. The presentation Haley had delivered to Lucas' house was flashing on the screen.

The presentation and the tour of the company went smoothly. By the end of the tour, Lucas and Haley walked Stella out to her car.

"It was wonderful meeting you Lucas and you too Haley," Stella kept her gaze on Lucas and briefly turned towards Haley when she mentioned her name.

"The pleasure is all mine," Lucas shook Stella's hand.

"And to thank you for doing such a spectacular job on the presentation and the tour, I would like to invite both of you to my party next Saturday. It's to celebrate my new book that is coming out next month. So will you both come?" she asked.

"I would love to."

"Haley?"

"I'll check my schedule."

"Nonsense, you're coming or you'll have to explain to Mr. Mason why I suddenly decide to change my mind on joining the company," she teased.

Haley wanted wipe the annoying smile she always had on her perfectly symmetrical face. This sweet act was really too much for Haley to endure. "In that case, how can I refuse," Haley commented half-heartedly.

"Wonderful. It's a little black tie affair. I'll send out the invitations straight away."

"Excellent," Lucas didn't even looked Haley's way before answering for the both of them. "We'll see you there."

"We'll see you there," Haley mocked inside her own mind. Stella Shield was one not to be trusted Haley decided.

The next week went by extremely slowly. Haley finally got what she wanted – a boss/employer relationship, but why was she still miserable? She thought she wanted this, in fact she knows she does.

Scrutinizing herself in the full-length mirror, she slowly turned around making sure she looked somewhat decent for this extravagant affair. Not liking the outfit she was wearing, she was about to change into the sixth ensemble but when looked at the clock that flashed 7:40 PM, she realized she didn't have time – only five minutes in fact. She had to make do with what she was wearing. Quickly applying light make-up and spraying herself with perfume, she walked to living room. Locating her purse, she dropped her lipstick inside. As she slipped on her heels, the doorbell rang.

Answering the door, her jaws dropped. Wearing a white tuxedo and a blue tie that brought out the blue in his eyes, Lucas handed her a bouquet of daisies. His hair was jelled in a messy, but stylist manner.

"Thank you," she managed to say.

"You're welcome."

He watched her put the flowers in a vase and returned to the door. Brushing back her hair that was cascaded in loose waves, she asked, "Ready?"

"Of course."

He allowed her to walk in front of him as he took in the exquisiteness of Haley. Wearing an off the shoulder pink dress that was fitted at the waist and flowed outwards and a pair of drop earrings, she walked confidently before turning around. The chocolate color eye shadow and pink blush highlighted her natural beauty. "Where did you park?"

"Over here," he pointed and led the way.

Unlocking the car doors, he got in on his side and started the engine. Haley felt a tinge of disappointment at his lack of opening the door for her, but she couldn't complain. Hopefully at the party, she'd have some sort of distraction to make the long night she foresaw tolerable.


	19. Black Tie Affair

The classical music floating through the ballroom at the Hyatt suited the entire décor of the "small black tie affair" where people dressed in their finest were socializing. As soon as Lucas and Haley made their uncomfortable entrance, Stella openly greeted them.  
  
"I'm so glad both of you made it." Stella gave Lucas a small handshake and a kiss on the cheek, and then proceeded to welcome Haley in the same manner.  
  
"Thanks for inviting us," Lucas answered as Haley gave a small smile.  
  
"No need to thank me. Now let me introduce you to a few of my friends." Stella seated them at one of the tables and introduced them to a small group of people whom they would be sitting with. Afterwards she continued to fulfill her hostess duties, circulating around the room, mingling with her other guests.  
  
As soon as everyone arrived and were seated, waiters began serving the food. An assortment of delicious appetizers, courses and cocktails continued to be served. After a rich chocolate cake with ice cream on the side was consumed, the orchestra began playing. Haley and Lucas continued socializing with the other guests, hardly saying a few words to each other. The people at the table felt the tension between the two but kept their thoughts to themselves and the people next to them.  
  
Haley watched as people began walking towards the dance floor, entranced by their gracefully moves. As silly as it might sound, she always wanted to dance that way ever since she saw people doing so in old movies.  
  
Lucas eyed her curiously. She had a twinkle, dazed spark in her eyes as she kept them on the same spot. Willing himself to get up and ask her to dance, he was disappointed when he saw another person beat him to it. Berating himself for being too slow, he watched as Haley hesitantly walked onto the dance floor with the stranger.  
  
As much as it pained him to watch her in the arms of another man, he couldn't look away, awestruck by what a great dancer she was. He had never known any that could demand attention with such liquid movements. Soon, Stella was by his side. "Stand up everyone. No one is allowed to sit down when you can all be having fun dancing." Everyone did as she said and moved towards the dance floor. Lucas stood on the sidelines, continuing to stare.  
  
Haley felt his intense gaze on her. They were just too aware of each other, and that made her nervous. Avoiding looking up, too afraid that she would be unable to keep the promise she made to herself, to him, she looked at the person she was dancing with. He was handsome in that Shane West rugged way. Smiling at him, she continued to dance, hoping that the song would end soon. She wasn't in the mood to dance at the moment and regretted accepting his invitation.  
  
But when her curiosity got the best of her, she scanned the area, seeing Lucas surrounding by a few ladies. They stared at him as if they wanted to eat him up. Lucas looked up and smiled at Haley, then refocused his attention back toward his admiring "fans." Huffing to herself, she continued to dance as the song ended.  
  
"Do you mind it I cut in," the voice made Haley cringe inwardly.  
Disappointed, the stranger complied, "Not at all. Thank you for the dance," before he moved away.  
  
Nodding, Haley began to walk away from Kevin, but felt a hand on her waist. "Not so fast there. I think you owe me a dance."  
  
"I don't owe you anything," Haley seethed, still trying to move away. She couldn't believe that Stella invited this jerk, although she should have known Kevin would be there. It seemed like everyone from his father's firm was there.  
  
"But I think you do," tightening his grasp, he continued, "You owe me a dance. I've been told dancing is a type of foreplay for..." giving her a suggestive smirk.  
  
Resisting the urge to slap the sadistic bastard, she clenched and unclenched her fists, seeing how she was unable to pull away from his strong hold. Not wanting to make a scene, she tried to think of how she could get out of this sticky situation.  
  
The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Kevin to relinquish his grip on Haley.  
  
"Sorry for interrupting, but do you mind Kevin if I take Haley away from you?"  
  
"Not at all," defeated, he watched as Haley was lead away.  
Overcome with pure joy, Haley smiled at her rescuer. "Did you need something?" she asked genuinely, not wanting to give any clues to how uncomfortable she actually was around Kevin because if anyone discovered what was really going on, the outcome could be devastating.  
  
"Actually I wanted to have the photographer take a picture of you," Stella began, "and Lucas." Stopping in front of Lucas, she politely excused him from his company.  
  
"Lucas dear, do you mind if I get a picture of you and Haley?" She continued before he could answer, signaling the photographer, "Thanks. I think a picture of the two of you dancing would be perfect."  
  
Neither person moved causing Stella to encourage them, "Well, what are you two waiting for?"  
  
Giving one another an understanding look, they moved towards one another. Wrapping one arm around her waist and intertwining his hand in hers, they swayed to the music as the photographer clicked away. Satisfied, Stella left the two alone.   
  
Forgetting about the camera, neither could think about anything but their closeness and how right it felt being in one another's arm. Haley felt the sudden jump in her heartbeat, telling herself to relax, to not look away. She couldn't avoid him, and dancing around those ocean blue, penetrating eyes were simply rude.   
  
"So Stella is quite a character isn't she," Haley stated, tired of their awkwardness around one another.  
  
"She sure is," Lucas mused. "Very unique."  
  
"And beautiful," Haley added.  
  
Lucas didn't comment. He knew that whatever came out of his mouth, she wouldn't like it.  
  
"I never got to thank you for finishing the slideshow. It was beyond great."  
  
"No need to thank me. It was the least I can do." She was about to add to that, but decided against it, not wanting to bring up what they both would rather forget.  
  
"I was thinking about what you said that night." Haley felt her heart skip a beat. "You were right."  
  
Haley felt dizzy and weak. "Right about what." Not wanting to hear what she thought he meant, but at the same time, she needing to know for sure.  
  
"That it's best to keep the relationship strictly professional."  
He agreed with her wishes, but she felt as if her life was coming to a standstill. Her heart lurched. Suddenly she felt _lost_. _Alone_. She deprived herself the opportunity to experience true happiness with him, but she had no one to blame but herself. Why was it that you were always the last one to know? He was fighting for what he wanted while she was fighting...against it. But none of that mattered now. It was all in the recent past. She had to deal with her mixed emotions.  
  
"I'm glad you finally see things my way," she answered, blinking back her tears.


	20. What You See is What You Get

Haley needed to grasp the reality of what was actually happening. This seemed like a nightmare, a whirlwind of emotions she couldn't control. All this heartache was exactly the reason why she didn't want to become involved with Lucas. Deep down, she knew he affected her in ways no other man would be able to and this scared the hell out of her. She couldn't let herself experience what it was like to be with him romantically. The amount of pain she felt now was unbearable, but loving and losing him would destroy her. Maybe things worked out for the best Haley told herself. In time, she'd get over him. Sending him a convincing smile, she continued to sweep across the dance floor in his arms, enjoying their last moment of closeness.

A pandemonium of clapping caused Haley and Lucas to stop dancing as they tried to catch a glimpse of what was causing such a commotion. Surprised and mortified that a crowd of people surrounded them, staring, Haley groaned inwardly. Lucas took her hand in his, bowing to the enthusiastic crowd and then placed a gentle kiss on her hand. The crowd clapped once more, then resumed dancing as the next song played.

"Thanks for the dance," Haley said as she was about to walk away, not wanting him to see how he can affect her.

"How about another one? I forgot how much fun dancing is," Lucas flashed his charming smile.

She was about to tell him that she would rather sit this one out when she saw the vapid person approaching them in the corner of her eyes. "Sure. Why not?"

Lucas placed his hands on her hips as Haley embraced his shoulders. Wishing the orchestra wasn't playing a slow song, Haley focused her attention on how lovely the ballroom was. The cream patterned walls and marble floor added a rich, elegant feel to the vicinity and the exquisite crystal chandeliers provided the perfect lighting.

Following her gaze, Lucas interrupted her thoughts. "This whole fancy atmosphere isn't my sort of thing."

"I must admit it's not mine either."

"I would much rather be sitting on the couch watching football and pigging out on some junk food."

"I agree on the pigging out part but not the football. I was and will never be into sports."

"Have you ever joined any sports team in high school?"

"No," Haley admitted. "I had trouble just trying to pass gym let alone bounce a basketball."

"Don't you mean dribble?"

"See what I mean?" she said rhetorically.

"Yeah," he laughed, a rich, smooth baritone. "Did you ever join cheerleading, color guard or band?"

"No, cheerleading and color guard is not my thing. No coordination what so ever, not that I really tried doing it before. I don't like performing in front of people so that rules out all three."

"No school spirit then?" he teased.

"I had school spirit, but just not the obvious kind."

"Like how the popular crowd flaunts everything?" He stated more than questioned.

"I guess you can put it that way. I was never really concerned about what other people thought about me. I know I'm one hundred percent myself. What you see is what you get."

Thinking back to his high school years, Lucas remembered being the same way, before he joined the basketball team. He got caught up in all the popularity hype everyone else was into. What sport you played and how good you were at it made you or broke you. Luckily, or maybe it wasn't so lucky, that his basketball skills made him the idolized basketball player everyone crowded around. He lost many of his friends on the river court because of it. That's one of his regrets in life, because now he didn't have anyone he could turn to. His so-called-friends in his life disappeared as soon as they all graduated from high school and/or college. At first they kept in touch almost everyday until their friendship gradually diminished into nothing. He had no one to talk to about his problems except for his mother. She was the only constant in his life.

"So do you still keep in touch with your high school friends?"

Looking slightly sad, she explained, "Not really. The only person I always keep in touch with, my best friend, is teaching English in Japan."

"Wow. That's great. Does she like living over there?"

"She loves it. She's so busy teaching and preparing her lessons, we hardly get a chance to talk. Not to mention the time difference doesn't help either."

Sounding a little jealous, Lucas smiles midway, "That must be nice to have someone you're so close to."

"Yeah it is. But I'm sure you feel the same way."

"It's different for me."

"How so?"

"I haven't kept in touch with my high school or college friends for a few years."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I have my mother. She's the best best friend and mother anyone could have."

"I'm glad," Haley verbalized giving him as sincere nod. "I think I'm going to go outside and get a breath of fresh air."

Releasing her, Lucas watched as she made her way out the door.


	21. Jumping to the Wrong Conclusion

A cool gentle breeze blew Haley's curls across her face. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she looked at the empty night sky sprinkled with a few sparkling stars. It was soothing standing outside alone away from the hustle and bustle. Enjoying the peacefulness, she collected her thoughts. Once again, she revealed part of her past to Lucas before she could stop herself. The problem lied in the fact that he was so easy to talk to. Even if she was mad at him, she knew that she couldn't stay mad at him forever. If it was any other circumstances, she could see him as the guy best friend she always wanted. One who could tell you what guys were thinking and give you a new perspective on something. Closing her eyes, she allowed the cool wind to caress her, providing her with a comfortable feeling of peace, if even briefly.

"If you don't mind Lucas, I rather be alone," Haley replied when she heard soft footsteps approaching.

"Good thing I'm not Lucas then," the intruder stated cockily, admiring the beauty before him. "He must be a total bore. Good thing you have me to lighten things up. I know you enjoy my pleasant company, but then again, who wouldn't!"

Shivering, Haley drew all her courage and slowly turned around. Crossing her arms firmly in front of her in defiance, she barked, "Go away Kevin."

"So the lady has attitude," the smug look firmly planted on his face. "I like that in a woman."

Gradually moving back, she repeated, holding a hand up to prepare herself for any of his advances, "I mean it, go away Kevin."

"And deny you the pleasure of being graced with my presence. I think not. You're just playing hard to get. Don't worry, I'm not giving up. In fact, the chase is half the fun. The other half, you'll find out soon enough."

Looking behind her shoulders, she dropped her hand as she noticed she couldn't move back any further. Slowly she shifted in a half circle as Kevin continued to approach her. Terrified of the fact that they were alone, she tried to backtrack inside the hotel without making it obvious. Hopefully someone would walk outside soon. And as if her fairy godmother granted her wish, Kevin walked right past her. Fear was replaced with confusion.

"I'll catch up with you later Haley." Chills ran through her spines at the possibility of what later may entail.

A hand placed on her shoulders caused her to panic. Kevin was able to trick her into thinking he left when his true purpose was to catch her off guard. Rotating, she was about to give Kevin a beating he truly deserved. She had enough of his threats and insinuations. If she didn't do something soon, she didn't know what could possibly happen.

Letting out a faint scream, she turned around to find Lucas. Relief and anxiety washed over her. Trying to appear normal, she plastered on her best smile. "Lucas, you scared the living daylight out of me. I almost died of a heart attack."

Disregarding her remark, he asked, "Did Kevin do or say something to you?" His voice was firm, full of concern.

A flash of panic came to Haley's eyes but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "Of course not. What makes you say that?" Haley lied, perplexed on whether she should tell Lucas or not. Deciding it was better not to, she bit down her bottom lip from telling him the truth. Lucas' job depended on her ability to handle Kevin on her own.

"I don't know. Maybe the terrified look in your eyes and the fact that you're trembling makes it obvious." Taking her hand in his, he coaxed, "Look Haley, you can tell me. I can handle Kevin. You don't have to put up with any of his %$#."

"You're jumping to the wrong conclusions."

"Am I?" Lucas challenged her.

Pulling her hand away, she declared, "Yes you are."

"Hales, whatever he said to possibly threaten you isn't worth the risk of not telling anyone about it." Haley had to disagree with him because she would not be able to deal with the fact that she was the reason he lost his job. She was already a burden on him, she didn't want to add another weight on his shoulder.

"He's not but I think I'm sensing some jealousy here."

"Don't try to change the subject," Haley frowned at Lucas ability to read her so well.

"If you weren't jealous, why are you so worked up about this?" She knew he wouldn't buy her lame argument, but she had to divert the topic any way possible. "After all, I'm just your assistant remember."

"I care about everyone who is in my life. You are my assistant and therefore what concerns you concerns me."

"Well that's sweet of you to care, but I don't need anyone protecting me. I'm a big girl; I can handle anyone who is bothering me. Fortunately for the both of us, Kevin isn't so you don't have to worry."

"And you're sure about this?"

"Absolutely." Hoping he'd drop the subject, she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Okay," Lucas says, "I'll take your word for it. But if I see something that makes me believe otherwise, I'm not going to apologize for taking the necessary measures to put him in his place."

"Agreed." Praying that she'll figure something out before things get out of hand, she asked, "Do you think you can take me home? I'm exhausted and in desperate need of sleep."

"Sure," concern still evident in his voice. "Lets say goodbye to Stella before we go though."

"Yes, lets." Amused by how quickly the night has caused her to change her opinion of the author, she followed Lucas inside.

When they reached Stella, she excused herself from her other guests. "Are the two of you leaving already?"

"Yes," Haley told her. "Thanks for inviting us to this lovely party of yours."

"Thank you for coming. You two are the talk of the whole party."

Groaning to herself, Haley looked at Stella in disbelief. She couldn't understand for the life of her why people were entertained by watching the two of them dance. Neither possessed extraordinary dancing abilities although Lucas was an amazing dancer.

"Why is that?" Lucas solicited.

Signaling the entire guest list with a wave of her hands, she explained, "Your amazing dancing skills mesmerized everyone."

"Thanks," Lucas said before Haley could rebuke the compliment.

"No need to take me for stating the truth." Pointing her finger, she continued, "Would you be a dear Lucas and pick up the pictures the photographer took of you two? It's near the entrance."

"Sure," Lucas complied.

"Haley can keep me company for a few minutes while you're doing that."

After Lucas walked off, Stella turned towards Haley. "So Haley, what's going on with you and Lucas?"

Almost gagging from being taken aback by the host's upfront question, she questioned, "What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that. I can tell that something is going on. The chemistry between the two of you is undeniable," she smirked in amusement.

"I think you're mistaken Stella. Lucas is my boss."

"A sexy, smothering hot boss," the author returns.

With wide eyes, the assistant asked incredulously, "Excuse me?"

"Don't tell me you don't find him remotely attractive."

"That's not important," Haley gnawed on her bottom lips.

"Just what I thought."

"I'm sorry Stella, but you're confusing me here."

"Haley, I write romance novels. I am fully aware when two people are attracted to one another. I can't even remember writing the relationship between two people who belong together more than the two of you."

"What we have is a...solid non-romantic relationship. I think you two would make a better couple," she laughed awkwardly.

"My husband would disagree," Stella held up her ring to show her brilliant cut 14-karat diamond ring.

"Wow, that's beautiful. I didn't know you were married." She couldn't believe she failed to realize the giant ring until now.

"Thank you. I'm lucky to have married the perfect person for me, but that's beside the point. We're talking about you here."

"You're very persistent Stella," Haley laughed at the picture of herself talking about her relationship with Stella of all people. She wished she had a video camera to document this whenever she needed a good laugh.

"It's one of my admirable traits," she winked.

"Do you always try to play matchmaker?" There was no doubt in Haley's mind that she took on that role on several occasions.

"Only when my services are required and in this case, it is. It shouldn't surprise you that I enjoy helping people find their soul mates since I am a romance novelist."

Shrugging, Haley enlightened the matchmaker, "Well I guess you'll have to deal with this being your first lost cause."

"What lost cause are you two talking about?" Lucas asked, confused as he held a manila envelop in his hand.

"Oh, nothing that is of any importance," Haley articulated. "We better let you get back to your other guests Stella"

"Thanks for the picture," Lucas added.

"You're welcome." She shook Lucas' hands and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Have a good night and drive safely."

Leaning towards Haley as she embraced her hands, her voice dropped to a whisper that only Haley could hear, "Pictures are worth more than a thousand words."

Not sure what Stella meant by that, she nodded and walked out towards the front of the hotel with Lucas. As they waited for the valet driver to retrieve his car, he began opening the envelope, taking out several pictures. "Wow...there's quite a few pictures of us. I thought the photographer only took one."

Haley leaned close to him to get a better view. When Lucas began flipping through the pictures, Haley realized what Stella meant. Pictures do speak volumes.


	22. Memories

_A/N: Once again I will like to thank everyone for their amazing support.  
  
This chapter is short but it tells you what you have all been dying to know from the very beginning. _

__

Tossing the pictures he was looking at for the past half hour on his desk, he lied back down on his bed. Resting his head under his arms, he closed his eyes. He could almost feel the way Haley felt next to him, the way their bodies fit perfectly together as they experienced a world of their own. Ever since Haley graced him with her presence, he couldn't get her off his mind. She was constantly appearing in his dreams. Most of them were reoccurring ones of them raising their beautiful children. Their daughter would have Haley's beautiful auburn hair and brown doe eyes and Lucas heart-warming smile. Her gentle nature and kindness would have her father at her beck and call. Their son would have fair blonde hair as well as the infamous Scott charm. He would be overprotective of his older sister even at his young age, tagging along where ever she went. Haley of course would be the ideal mother and wife, tending to the needs of her family as well as her own. Being the doting husband and loving Father, Lucas would teach his children how to play basketball, document all their first moments and show his children and his wife that they were loved unconditionally. These dreams were so vivid that he'd wake up looking for Haley lying next to him, only to be disappointed that the perfect life he wanted to live was out of reach.

---

Reaching for a mug in the cupboard, Haley poured herself some coffee. She knew that she shouldn't be drinking coffee when her nerves were frazzled, but she couldn't help it. Since she couldn't sleep, she might as well drink a highly caffeinated beverage. When she was younger, she swore to herself that she wouldn't be one of those people who wake up every morning drinking coffee, constantly refilling their mugs for more like her parents did. Luckily she was disciplined, drinking it only when she needed it. It all started when she applied to work at Karen's Cafe. She needed some spending money seeing how her parents constantly forgot to leave her some. One day, when she was walking home from school, she saw the "help wanted" sign. Immediately she went in to fill out an application. Karen graciously hired her on the spot when she handed in her application. The benefit of working at a coffee shop was drinking Karen's delicious coffee for free.

Her work hours coincidently fell on the days of Lucas' basketball practices. By the time Lucas might have stop by the cafe, she would be home already. She never minded not being able to watch the basketball games since she was never into sports. Heck, she disliked any sport. That was until she was walking home from a late tutoring session. She took a different route, enjoying the scenery when she saw some students she recognized from Tree Hill High playing basketball by the river court. They looked like they were having so much fun dunking and playing for the pure joy of it that she became fascinated. Taking a seat where she couldn't be seen, she continued watching them.

Not long after, a couple of kids who looked like they were in the sixth grade walked towards the basketball court, engrossed by the older kids' abilities. One of them walked over to invite them to join in. The children's eyes lit up from sheer joy that they were invited to participate with the grown-ups. Only then did Haley realize that one of the boys was a lot younger than the rest. She estimated he was probably in the second grade. A dark haired boy ordered that he sit on the bench and watch as they played. Looking defeated and left out, the young boy did as he was told.

The tears running down his cute, scrunched up chubby face provoked Haley to want to run from her hiding spot and give him a tight bear hug, but before being able to do so, she saw a basketball being handed to the young lad. A surprised look etched his face as he held the ball in awe. Lucas picked him up, carefully placing him on his shoulders and walked towards the basket. A swoosh sound and cheering shortly ensued as the boy grinned widely at his brother and then Lucas. The warm gesture brought tears to Haley's eyes. She knew from that moment that she fell in love with Lucas Scott and ironically was able to appreciate the sport she at one time loathed the most.

Shaking her head in an attempt to erase the memory, she took a sip of coffee, allowing the hot liquid to seep down her throat. Picking up the overturned pictures she placed on the table when she got home, she looked at it once more. She wondered if Lucas was looking at his copies of the pictures at the same moment. The pictures that were taunting her about the person she could have had if she took a chance. Who was she kidding she asked herself. Lucas was confused about his emotions for her. He saw a damsel in distress and like the kind hearted person he was, he wanted to alleviate the pain. When he was finally thinking clearly, he realized his mistake of thinking he was attracted to her when it couldn't be farer from the truth. She was right in refusing him because she would be the one who was hurt if she didn't put a stop to it before she got involved with him. But when she studied the photos closely, she wasn't so sure she was right. If a stranger looked at the picture, he may think the couple in the photograph were in...love. Not love, maybe experienced sexual attraction. That couldn't be it either because Haley knew she was not remotely good looking. She couldn't place exactly what the pictures revealed because there were so many different levels that could be read.


	23. Playing Matchmaker

Ch. 23

Resting comfortably in the chair, Haley jotted down notes as Lucas spoke. She stealthy watched while he paced back and forth, rubbing the back of his neck every once in a while. A habit of his she came to recognize whenever he was in deep thought. Then there was his broodiness that was irritating and sexy at the same time.

She almost forgot that his steely stare was penetrating until he directed it towards her. Shifting her eyes back down on her notepad, she thought about how long it had been since he looked at her that way. It had last transpired a few weeks ago on the night of the party. Surprised that neither one brought up that episode, she continued to focus on her work.

Lucas almost laughed out loud when he saw Haley staring at him. He was doing the same thing, which was hard to do. He felt like he was playing a game of cat and mouse. Neither wanted the other to know what they were doing which was funny since both were obviously aware of the situation. Although they managed to maintain a normal working relationship, he was glad that she was partially opening up to him, allowing him to find out more about her.

"That's all I need you to take notes on for now. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Haley answered as she got up to type the notes at her desk. As soon as she started typing, her phone rang.

"Mason Publishing Company. Haley speaking. How may I help you?" Haley greeted.

"Hi Haley. How are you doing?" the caller asked politely.

Smiling when she recognized the caller's voice, she answered, "I'm fine. How are you Stella?"

"I'm doing fabulous, as always. I just got back from Paris a few days ago from celebrating my anniversary."

"That's wonderful! I always dreamed of going there. Did you go up the Eiffel Tower and see The Louvre?"

"I didn't go this time because I've seen and been to both before. I did walk along Champs-Elysees."

"I heard that's such a great street filled with a million nice shops. It's near the Arc de Triomphe. That must be an interesting experience to drive on the circular street next to that arc monument that has twelve streets connected to it. I can't recall its name."

"You must be talking about Place Charles de Gaulle. That's a crazy street to be driving in. I love Champs-Elysees. If you ever go to Paris, make sure you also visit Notre Dame Cathedral."

"That's also on my list. Who knows if I'll ever go?" her voice dripped with doubt.

"Never say never - that's my philosophy."

"I'll try, " Haley grinned. Stella was definitely a fun and interesting person to talk to. She reminded Haley of her best friend. They were both outgoing people who were easy to talk to.

"I hope so. Anyways, I called you to invite you to join me for dinner tonight."

"That would be great. I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'll pick you up at 7:00PM. "

"See you then."

---

Arriving at the restaurant, Stella and Haley followed the hostess to their seats. When they rounded the corner, Haley stopped when she noticed Lucas sitting at a table. Hoping that he was waiting for one of his friends, she was disappointed when they were seated at the same table.

"Hello Stella," he gave her a hug. "Haley," he nodded in her direction. "How was your day?" he directed his question toward Stella since he already knew how Haley's day went.

"My day was great. Now I'm going to have a wonderful night since the two of you are here." The glow in her face was unmistakable. Haley had a strong feeling that her...friend was trying to play matchmaker once again. Shaking her head, she just watched Stella with fascination. How many people would go to such lengths to put two people together? Not many in Haley's experience. She wished she wasn't the subject of Stella's ploy.

It wasn't long before Stella's phone rang and she had to leave because of some "family emergency."

"It's so obvious that Stella made the whole excuse up."

"Yeah. You must admit she is very flamboyant." Lifting up his glass to take a drink, he continued, "She definitely is persistent. I don't think she'll ever give up until we get together."

"I suppose you're right." Releasing a long sigh, she looked up at her surrounding. Stella's taste for fancy places was impeccable. The restaurant was definitely upper class. The chandeliers hanging right above the table reminded her of the party.

Following her gaze, he questioned, "Are you trying to tell me that you rather look at the chandeliers than at me?"

"Yes," Haley replied, holding back the bantering side of her.

"I see. Are you trying to reprimand me for not wanting you anymore?" Lucas lightly teased.

"No," Haley stated nonchalantly. "Besides it doesn't matter because you don't want me and I don't want you."

"Just because I don't see us linked romantically together doesn't mean I wouldn't like some attention thrown my way."

"Well I guess that's too bad because I'm not one of those girls who falls all over a good looking guy."

"So I'm good looking?" he stated rhetorically.

"No comment." She couldn't believe she put herself in this position.

Leaning towards her, he asked again, "Please answer my question."

Sighing, she countered, "With the right lighting, you look alright."

"Just alright?"

"What do you want me to say? That you're steaming hot?"

"I was hoping for something along the line like every girl drools over how drop dead gorgeous I am." Lucas laughed to himself at how cocky he must have sounded, but he didn't care. He wanted to provoke some emotion for the woman in front of him.

"Please! You wish." She knew she sounded like a ten year old, but it was her prerogative.

"Then why aren't you looking me in the eyes when you're saying that?"

"And inflate that big ego of yours, no thank you," she retorted, not skipping a beat.

"I guess I'll accept that as a yes, I think you're extremely handsome. I don't understand why that would be so hard for you to admit."

Rolling her eyes at how conceded he seemed, she asked before her mind could process what she said, "Do you think I'm beautiful?" Covering her mouth, she gasped. "Don't answer that."

"I _don't think_ you're beautiful." Haley's gaze dropped. "I _know _you are."

Rolling her eyes in disbelief, she quickly stated, "You don't have to say. I know I'm average looking. Most men wouldn't throw me a second glance."

"I highly doubt that."

"Earth to Lucas. Come in." Lucas saw a hand waving in front of his face bringing him back to reality. He then realized that he had been daydreaming.

"What?" Lucas asked, confused.

Exasperated, she explained, "You were staring at me with his weird dazed look on your face. It was kind of creepy if you asked me."

"I'm sorry. My mind was wandering." He almost laughed at how real the daydream seemed. It was almost as realistic as the dreams he had about her. The way she responded to his comment was something he could imagine her saying. He was glad that Stella wasn't there to see him in this state. Having Haley see him like this was already bad enough.

"Apparently so," Haley couldn't help but smirk. The adorable look on his face was classic. She wanted to ask him what he was dreaming about but saw a waiter approaching. Her question would have to wait.


	24. Questions and Answers

_A/N: I hope you guys are still interested in reading this story. Please continue to let me know what you think. Thanks. _

After ordering dinner, Haley asked, "So did Stella fill you in about this whole surprise dinner thing?"

"If you meant, if she told me she invited you, no she didn't."

"Oh."

"Do you think I would have came if you knew?"

"It doesn't matter, it wouldn't change the fact that we're both here." After taking a sip of her water, she began playing with the napkin on her lap. "Have you been here before?"

"A few times." He bit into a slice of soft bread.

She wondered if he had taken any dates with him. She could imagine Lucas taking the women he was interested in to elegant places like this restaurant; an environment where they could converse and get to know one another better.

"With anyone special?" She didn't know where she found the courage to ask him all these questions. Human's natural curiosity was the answer Haley came up with.

"Yes," he kept his answer vague.

"That's nice," Haley pretended to be unfazed by his answer but Lucas wasn't blind.

"I've taken my mother here."

Once again, Haley noticed the admiration he had for his mother. She would too if she had a mother like Karen. Remembering how understanding and sweet the woman was, she wasn't surprised that her son was the same way.

"So when was the last time you saw her?"

"About two months ago. It's been a while since I last seen her but we talk on the phone daily."

"That's great. I use to talk to my best friend, Isabella, everyday before she moved to teach."

Propping an elbow on the table, he inquired, "How did the two of you meet?"

"We had the same English and History class during our freshmen year in high school. She sat right next to me in English class and we would talk about how boring our teacher was."

"I bet you made fun of her too," he added.

Lowering her head slightly, she answered meekly, "Yes. I'm embarrassed to admit I did for the longest time. I use to say how she looked like a school bus; especially when she wore yellow. I even remember her telling us about her house, her cats and her family. To tell you the truth, I wondered who would marry her. Man, I use to say mean things about teachers."

"And I bet they loved you because you were a great student."

"I wouldn't use the term love. At least I hope not," Haley shivered to emphasize her point. "Wait, what were we talking about before I lost my train of thought?" Gnawing on her bottom lips while she thought, she squinted her eyes, trying to remember.

Unable to suppress a laugh, he assisted her, "You were talking about how you met Isabella."

"Right. I knew that. I just wanted to test you to make sure you were listening."

"If you say so," he stated doubtfully. 

"I do. Anyways, we worked on a few projects together and realized how much we had in common. We instantly became best friends. We're so much alike yet so different. It's hard to explain."

"I know what you mean." He felt the same way about him and Haley. He felt as if he knew her better than any of his other friends.

Nodding her head, she took another sip of water. She was so nervous being alone with Lucas that she needed to somehow keep her hands busy.

"So what's your most embarrassing moment," Lucas questioned. He wondered if she would ignore his question or answer it.

"I would have to say when I went bowling for a school function and the person I liked at the time saw me throw the bowling ball backwards. I was humiliated beyond belief."

"What did the guy say or do?"

"He didn't really say anything. He probably didn't even notice I existed until that moment and a few minutes later forgot again."  
  
"I'm positive that's not the case. If it was me, I would have noticed you."

Ironically, the person she was talking about was none other the same person who said that, but she wasn't about to point that out. "Luckily I redeemed myself later that night by miraculously throwing the ball into the gutter..."

"I don't see how that's amazing," the confusion on his face was evident.

"You didn't let me finish," she pointed out politely. "It went into the gutter and back out onto the lane and hit some pins."

"Really? Wow, I never seen that happened before."

"Neither have I. Luck was on my side. Well, kind of. The person I had a crush on already left by the time I did that. I also bowled a better game when he left, not that he noticed me. Wait, I guess luck wasn't on my side," she babbled inanely.

"Maybe it was."

"What do you mean?"

"Well maybe fate led you to not end up with the guy that obviously wasn't right for you."

"You may be right." She just needed to keep reminding herself that. Unfortunately, the more she talked to him, the more she found it harder to uphold her promise to herself. Right then, she couldn't remember why she thought it was a bad idea to be with him. Frustrated with her own indecisiveness, she directed the attention back towards him.

"Your turn."

"My turn. Hmm...Let me think." He drummed his fingers against the table. "There was this one time, but it's too mortifying to talk about."

"Hey, that's not fair. I told you mine and now you have to return the favor."

"Alright then. This was during the first week I joined the varsity Raven team. My teammates thought it would be funny to put me through hazing. I went to take a shower after one of our basketball practice and _mysteriously_ my clothes just vanished. All I could cover myself with was two basketballs."

Laughing hysterically, she bobbed her head up and down. "That is embarrassing. Too bad I wasn't there to see it."

"In that case, I would haven't covered myself," he raised an eyebrow.

Instantly Haley's cheek was painted red while Lucas watched in amusement. A few seconds passed by before she responded with, "Why bother especially since ping-pong balls are adequate in covering your _equipment._"

Now it was Lucas' turn to blush.

"So what were you day dreaming about?" She loved how she was able to put him on the spot. He did it to her so often she was justified in doing the same to him.

"What?" Caught off guard by the question, he almost choked as he drank some water.

"Or should I say who were you dreaming about?"

"If I tell you I would have to kill you."

"Don't give me that cheesy line. I want an honest answer." She waved a finger at him.

"How about I answer that question honestly if you answer one of my questions honestly?"

"Umm...I don't think that's such a good idea." She began to breathe heavily at the possible questions he might ask her.

"Chicken," he taunted, knowing she would fold.

"Fine."

"I was imagining us talking about one of the chandeliers in this restaurant."

"That sounds...interesting." She had no idea what in the world would have caused his mind to think of that.

Giving her his trademark smirk, he revealed, "Actually, it was. We were talking about how hot I was."

"What does chandeliers and your so called '_hotness'_ have to do with anything? Those two topics aren't even related."

"Well you see you were fascinated by the chandelier instead of my God given good looks. So I confronted you about it."

"You did?"

"Mmm...hmmm." Haley could see the gleam in his eyes.

"And?"

"And you admitted I was good looking, not that I'm surprised or anything."

"I don't think I would say something like that." Uneasily, she sat up straighter.

"Don't be so sure." 

Haley pretended to gag at the thought.

"If you had to rate me from one to ten, what would you rate me?" Lucas deadpans.

"I'm not going to degrade men by rating them."

"How is it degrading? Women do it all the time."

Haley quickly opened her mouth and then closed it. He did have a point there. "Well I'm not going to answer the question."

"But we just made a deal so I think you do have to answer it." Seeing how she wouldn't budge, he added, "What if we take turns answering one another questions. You can ask me anything you want."

"As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll have to pass."

"In that case, I won't tell you what I would rate you."

"I don't even want to know."

"Okay. Too bad because I thought you being the curious person you are would be interesting in knowing. I must have made a mistake."

"Alright, I'll give you a negative two."

"_Honesty_ Haley. It's always the best policy."

Muffling something inaudible, Lucas asked Haley to repeat her answer. "I didn't quite catch that."

"A ten," she said barely above a whisper. 

"What a coincidence, I was going to say the same thing about you!"

She wanted to say, "You got to be kidding me," but didn't want to make it seem like she was one of those girls who would say that in an attempt to fish for compliments. Although she often does refute some of the compliments directed towards her, she only stated what she believed was true.

"My turn. How did you change your mind so quickly one minute to the next?"

"Could you clarify that?"

"How did you change from being _infatuated_ with me to agreeing with me in keeping our relationship professional so quickly?"


	25. A Game of Cat and Mouse

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait but I'm working more now so my schedule has been really hectic._

Ch. 25

Lucas was stumped by her question. The more he got to know Haley, the more she surprised him. There was so much about her he didn't know. He felt as if he was just beginning to dig through the exterior of who she is as a person. The excavation would be a process he would enjoy doing.

"Lucas." Waving her hand in front of his face once more, she released a small chuckle.

"Huh?" Lucas asked, surprised.

"Do you always go off into your own _little world_?"

Shrugging slightly, he answered, "Whenever I think of you."

Shifting her eyes downwards, she began playing with her nails as she felt her pulse race to an irregular pace.

"So do you still want me to answer your question?"

"What question?" she asked, flustered.

"Oh, I don't know. Now that I think about it, I forgot what you asked," he feigned.

Looking up at his boyish grin, she finally remembered what he was talking about. "Oh no you don't! I remember now and you better tell me the truth."

"The whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"So help you God," Haley finished for him. "And don't you dare quote "A Few Good Men" and say that I can't handle the truth."

"How did you know I was going to say that?"

"I know more about you than you may realize," she answered cryptically.

Raising an eyebrow at the comment, he pondered his two choices. He decided to go with his first thought. "Reverse psychology."

"Reverse psychology huh? So you thought that I'd want you because you didn't want me?"

"Something like that. Did it work?"

"Were you always interested in reverse psychology?" she quickly asked.

"No avoiding the question."

Fidgeting in her seat, she picked at the piece of bread on her plate. "Maybe."

"That's a straightforward answer if I ever heard one," he replied sarcastically.

"Well I'm a straightforward type of girl."

"Uh-huh. You just showed me that now."

"Well I'm straightforward with some people."

"Either you give me an answer or you'll have to show me your feelings with another kiss."

Remember the last time their lips made contact, her heart pounded against her chest as her eyes focused on his lips. Biting her lips momentarily, she then whispered, "Yes."

"Excuse me? I can't hear you when you're mumbling softly."

"Too bad! I answered your question. It's not my fault you're deaf."

Standing up, he moved his chair towards her. "What do you think you're doing?

"I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well you better move back to _your_ side of the table." She scooted her seat away.

Following her moves, he conveyed, "What if I don't want to?"

"Then I'll...I'll move over there." She never felt more nervous in her life by his responses.

"Fine. I'll just have to move my seat again."

"Stop! We're not playing a game of cat and mouse here."

"Really, I thought we were and that I was winning."

"I don't-" Haley was cut off with his lips on hers. Stunned by his reaction, it took her a few seconds to react. Although her mind told her to pull away, her heart told her to follow her instincts.

Missing the other person's touch, they weren't aware of their surroundings. All they could focus on was the intense attraction that neither could deny.


	26. I Have to Tell You Something

Reluctantly breaking away from the kiss, both panted heavily from their previous _excursion_. Running his thumb along her swollen lips before giving her a quick peck on the lips, he smiled at her.

Giving her a serious, somber expression, he informed her, "Since we're being completely honest, I have to tell you something."

"You're not gay are you?" Haley joked, hoping to reduce the amount of panic she suddenly felt. Whenever people start a conversation that way, it never ended well.

"You know more than anyone else the answer to the question," he stated, winking flirtatiously at her.

Placing a hand on his arm, she questioned, "Then what is it?"

"This whole dinner idea was my idea. I just got Stella do to the dirty work," he admitted nervously.

"Oh really?" Raising an eyebrow in shock, she continued to stare at Lucas.

"Yup. So what are you going to do about it?" he challenged playfully as his gaze met hers.

"Right now, I'm going to eat my dinner," she replied when she saw the waiter approach them with their orders, "while you sit and think about what you did."

Leaning back against his seat, he watched the waiter walk away from the table after setting the food down before returning his full attention back to Haley.

"What?" Haley questioned him, raising a brow out of natural habit. She absolutely loved how he was able to match her bantering. A good sense of humor was one of her ideal trait her dream guy would have, but then again, she based those traits on the Lucas' personality and qualities. She also was glad he was a person who she could have a serious conversation with, no matter what the topic was.

"Can't a man just stare at a beautiful woman without being questioned?"

Giving him a look that meant she didn't agree with the fact that she was beautiful, she continued to eat her meal. She was finally able to relax when he began eating.

"So what do you say we hang out tomorrow?"

"You mean on a real date?"

"You can call it whatever you want."

Before she could stop herself, she accepted the offer.

"Pick you up at seven?" Lucas couldn't keep the smile off his face. He was finally able to climb over Haley's walls. Hopefully, he wouldn't come crashing down like a ton of bricks.

"Sounds good."

----

Arriving promptly at seven, Lucas drove Haley towards his destination.

"Did you forget something at your place?" she asked, looking at his house through the car window.

Hoping that he made the right choice for their date, he simply answered, "No," before getting out of the car and opening her side of the door.

"Right this way," he stated as he held his arm out for her to take hold of.

She followed suit as they walked towards the house. Once inside, Haley instantly smelled the aroma of her favorite dish. Licking her lips, she could almost taste the food. It brought her back to the night where things got complicated. She wondered if her date was trying to relive the moment, making the correct changes.

"I thought it would be a good idea to start over...for the hundredth time," he partially kidded.

He pulled out the chair for Haley to sit in while he went to retrieve the food. Lifting the cover off the pan, he scooped the food into two plates. Then he poured both of them some drinks.

While waiting for Lucas, she admired the table he had elegantly decorated with candles and scattered rose petals. Taking the single rose on table set right in front of her, she inhaled the lovely scent. She had grown so accustomed to vividly imagining going on a date with Lucas for as long as she could remember that she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. A part of her was scared; scared that he will realize that she's not the one for him but another part of her hoped that everything would fall into place. Fate has brought her to this point in her life. All she had to do was take charge and open up to the possibility of allowing Lucas into her sheltered life.

Her friends always told her to take chances in life because you never want to live in regret. Life was too short to close yourself to any opportunities or possibilities of being happy that were thrown your way. Although she often found herself giving the same advice to others, it was one thing to say it but another to actually follow through. She knew that with any relationship, there was an enormous possibility that things don't work out, but she hoped that now wasn't one of those times. She would hate to lose what they both...what Lucas struggled so hard to obtain. And that's what surprised her the most. She still didn't understand what he saw in her. There must be a zillion girls throwing themselves at his feet. What made him interested in her?

Setting the food and drink in front of her before getting his, he sat down across from her.

"Thanks for going through the trouble of cooking dinner." She took a bite of her delicious food before smiling up at him.

"Please, mac and cheese is the easiest food to make in the world. Besides, you love it and I happen to love cooking."

"Good because you can cook for me anytime."

"I'm holding you to that."

After they finished eating the fudge brownie desert with vanilla ice cream on the side, they continued their conversation about their childhood and youth as they walked towards the living room.

"And that's when I realized I wanted to be an editor," Haley explained. "I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I figured I would get my start somehow."

"Is that why you took this position as my secretary? You hoped it would lead you to become a editor?"

"Yeah," she replied meekly.

"I can give you something to edit and if you're good, which I'm sure you are, I'll put in a good word for you."

"Thanks, that would be great!" she exclaimed excitedly. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but this could be the kind of break she always hoped for. "So what do you have planned now?"

"I rented a movie for us to watch."

"What movie?"

Pulling out the movie he placed on top of the television, he held it out to her before putting it in the dvd player.

Sitting next to Haley, they watched the movie in silent; enjoying the feeling of snuggling up next to each other.


	27. Excuse Me?

_A/N: I'm so so so sorry about the delay between the chapters but work has been keeping me really busy. I hope this chapter is worth the wait._

Ch. 27

Watching Lucas and his secretary closely for the past few weeks, Kevin noticed a change in their relationship. There was no longer any tension between the two, but a comfortable closeness. It was almost too sickening for Kevin to take in, but good fortune never last long if he had anything to do with it. Smiling evilly to himself, he went on with day with the confidence he always exuded. As he whistled to himself, he wondered if anyone else was god's gift to women. Shaking his head vigorously, he realized that that wasn't possible. Women couldn't handle one Kevin in the world. He couldn't imagine the pandemonium it would cause if there was two.

---

Closing and locking his office door, Lucas turned around to face his secretary.

"Why Mr. Scott, what do you think you're doing?" She folded her arm defiantly.

"Just trying to get so privacy with my secretary. Is that a crime?" He gave her his infamous smile as he closed the gap between them.

"It depends on what you have in mind," she teased as she placed a hand on his chest.

"Just this," he stated before moving to capture her lips.

---

While working on the manuscript Lucas gave Haley to edit, Haley hummed the song, "She Will be Loved." Upon hearing a tapping noise, she noticed a beautiful, elegantly dressed woman standing in front of her.

"May I help you?" Haley asked in a pleasant, upbeat voice.

Looking rather annoyed, she answered in a fake, exasperated voice, "Yes."

Waiting patiently, Haley smiled at the woman. She didn't care that the woman was a b. All that mattered was that she was living a happy life where the person she cared about for so long felt the same way about her.

"I'm looking for my fiancé," she stated in a tone as if it should be obvious to everyone.

Haley bit back the urge to ask who would propose to such a mean spirited person. Instead, she questioned, "Who is?"

"Lucas Scott," she practically purred. The gleam in her eyes revealed that she thought she landed the most eligible bachelor.

Haley's heart lurched. She must have been hearing things. Lucas wouldn't deceive her or cheat on any women. She wanted to believe this so much, but then again why would the woman in front of her lie about this?

"Excuse me?" Her eyes bugged out in shock.

"I'm looking for your boss, Lucas. You're his secretary. Shouldn't you know where he is?" Rolling her eyes at how dense the secretary was, she remained calm seeing how she couldn't expect everyone to have brains. She couldn't help but feel sorry for people who have brains the size of peas.

"He...he's at a very important meeting," Haley had difficulty saying.

"I see. Work, work, work, that's all he ever does. If he wasn't so adorable and sweet, I would dump him." Throwing Haley a wide smile, she continued, "Well, can you tell him I stopped by and that I'm looking forward to our date tonight?"

Nodding her head vigorously, she watched Lucas' fiancée walk out the door.

---

Lucas quickly walked back toward his office. Although he saw Haley two hours ago, it seemed as if he hadn't seen her all week. The meeting lasted longer than he anticipated and he was glad that it ended right before lunch. When he reached her desk, she was nowhere to be found. Deciding that she was probably in the ladies' room, he waited for fifteen minutes before searching all over the building. Standing in front of her desk once more, he looked more carefully. Noticing that it seemed as if someone was in a hurry to pack, he reached for his cell phone in his pocket and dialed Haley's cell. When the voicemail picked up, he left her a message asking her to call him back as soon as possible.


	28. Discovered Identity

Ch. 28

The music was piercing as it was comforting. The vociferous sound made it difficult to even hear herself think; something she didn't want to do anyway. She already knew flashes of the stranger she had become acquainted with all of five minutes cozying up with Lucas would imprison her thoughts. Truth hurt. It hurt badly. Especially when she realized the girl had been telling the truth. She is Lucas's fiancée. But there was something that hurt more: lies.

Music was like a place she could just lock herself in and hide for a while, something she could lose herself in. A whirlwind of emotions: hurt, anger, and pent up emotion, but today it evaded her hollow. It was as if the radio stations were taunting her. No matter what station she changed it to, all of them seem to be melodic tunes of broken hearts and sappy love songs she knew all to well. It was telling her she didn't posses what it took to make that type of love last. Maybe she never had it.

A red stoplight. A finality. It was her permission and she took it, slouching over as her head rested on the steering wheel in defeat. She felt like she was breaking while everything faded into the background. Only one person came to mind who could actually comfort her and that was her best friend who happened to be halfway around the world.

It was moments like these that defined her life. The moment of truth when she can't pretend or run anymore. When she realized all she had was herself and she desperately wished there was someone else.

Someone to wrap his or her arms around her.

Someone to hold her and let her cry until everything felt better.

Someone to softly tell her comforting things that made her laugh, proving to herself that she could be happy again and that she could get through this.

Someone to know exactly when words were needed and when silence was what words couldn't convey.

Someone who would know the song in her heart that she had forgotten.

The obnoxious honking sound from behind shook her out of her daze as she pulled off to the side of the road. She was in no condition to drive but she didn't want to call a cab either. Turning off her engine, she took several deep breaths before turning to see a tear-streaked person staring back at her in the rear view mirror. Blinking back the tears that continued to flow down her soaked face, she questioned the predictions people had about her future as she grew up. They always said that the male population would realize that she was a great person and boys would have to fight to seek her love. Although she didn't want to get her hopes up that one day she'd find her prince for fear of utter disappointment, she couldn't help but wish they were right. The good guys always seem to want the bad girls and that was something she wasn't and would never compromise herself to be. At the same time, she often wished that her conscience would allow her to reinvent herself. It seemed as if men date the bad girls until they wanted to settle down and raise a family. This was when they would go for the "good girls." This wasn't fair Haley thought. Good girls were doomed and basically punished for being good. Maybe this wasn't the case and she couldn't be farther from the truth. Haley questioned if there was something wrong with her. She was always used and abuse (figuratively speaking of course). Although she should have been use to this by now, it wasn't something someone could quite get use to. Rubbing her temples furiously, trying to sort her jumble thoughts she repressed for years until they exploded at the most inopportune time, she searched for some Advil in her purse.

---

Slinging the black duffel bag over his shoulders, Lucas stepped out of the cab. Mumbling an incoherent thank you, he gazed at the sign in from of him before walking inside.

"Where can I get a decent cup of coffee around here?" he asked the waitress.

Lifting her head up from cleaning a table, she ran towards him, throwing her arms around Lucas. "Hey stranger. What brings you to this boring town?"

"My horrendous mother who has been harassing me for months to come visit her."

Playfully punching him in the stomach, she remarked, "I feel sorry for your mother. She has to put up with a good-for-nothing son like you."

"Hey, I resent that!"

Laughing, she shakes her head. "Well that's what you get for making a mean statement about me."

"It was a joke. You know you're an _okay_ mother."

Raising her eyebrows and throwing a death glare at him, she waved her fingers at him. "Watch out Luke. You may be in your twenties, but I can still ground your sorry butt."

"Okay, okay." Raising his hands in surrender, he admitted his defeat. "I'm sorry."

"That's more like it. Now tell me what's wrong," she said in a mother knows tone.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"The fact that you flew here without telling me. Besides, I haven't seen you for three long months and all of a sudden you're at the café claiming that everything's fine and dandy when I know better. Something's wrong. You might as well tell me now because I'm going to figure it out eventually."

When Lucas didn't answer, she asked, "So who is she?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb. The girl you're pining for?"

Not surprised that she knew what was wrong, he signed dejectedly. "An incredible, amazing woman. She was everything I hoped for in a partner and more. I had to literally pinch myself to make sure she wasn't a dream mom."

"What happened with this girl?"

"That's the thing. She's not the perfect person I thought she was."

"Luke, no one's perfect."

"I know but she _betrayed_ me." Karen watched her son pace back and forth while he described this woman that clearly affected him. "She lied to me and played me for a fool. I thought something about her was vaguely familiar, but she told me that I was mistaken. There were so many times where I thought she was hiding something from me, but never in my wildest dreams did I think it was this."

"Honey, you're all worked up. How do you know she betrayed you? Maybe you're jumping to the wrong conclusions."

Flashback

_Pounding urgently on the door, Lucas was disappointed and confused when a petite brunette opened the door. _

"_I'm sorry, I thought this was someone else's apartment."_

_Wondering why the stranger stared at him intently, he was about to leave before she stated, "Lucas? Lucas Scott?"_

"_Yes. How do you know me?"  
_

"_I'm Isabella, Haley's best friend. Haley and I went to Tree Hill with you. You were the all star basketball player if I'm not mistaken. Wait, didn't you know?"_

"_Do you know where Haley is?" Lucas didn't bother to answer the question after he began putting the pieces together. All the incidents where he thought Haley slipped by saying things he thought he never told her and times when he felt like she was hiding something from him was adding up. Finally putting the pieces together, he held back his anger from this semi-stranger._

"_Unfortunately I don't. I have a spare key to this apartment and I thought I would spend my one-week vacation time by surprising Haley with a visit. I guess it wasn't such a great idea. I think she went on a vacation herself because some of her clothes are gone."_

"_Okay. Thanks."_

"_Do you want me to tell her you stopped by if I see her before I leave?"_

"_No thank you," he replied with slumped shoulders and sorrow filled eyes._

"_But you seemed like you had something urgent to tell her."_

"_I did, but I just realized that it wasn't important."_

_Before Isabella could ask Lucas how Haley and Lucas met, he was gone._

"She must have had a valid reason for it," Karen reasoned after Lucas explained his run in with Isabella.

"I highly doubt that. If you care about someone, you do not lie to them. Our whole Goddamn relationship was based on a lie. Solid relationships deteriorate because of smaller problems. I do not want to be in a relationship with a person who is a fraud."

"Yes, you hate the fact that you still _love_ her."

"Love doesn't exist. I thought it did once but now I think it's a delusion."

"You can't say that," her soothing voice failing to decrease her son's turmoil.

"Why the HELL not?" Pounding his fist on the table, he welcomed the throbbing sensation.

Realizing that he spoke out of anger, she allowed him to vent his anger toward her.

"Because a life without love is meaningless. You can be the richest man in the world with millions of people surrounding you, but you'll feel empty if you have no one to share it with."

---

Haley hadn't realized the light had turned green as she stared at the glaring light that taunted her to continue her journey. She pressed her feet on the pedal and continued driving. Along the way, she passed a sign that said, "Welcome to Tree Hill."


	29. Open Honesty

Haley walked around the quiet neighborhood, unsuccessfully trying to enjoy the fresh air and peacefulness. The only sound was the pitter-patter of a few children playing tag in the front yard. Shifting her eyes toward the familiar street, she continued her excursion, wondering how and why she drove herself to the town that brought too many reminders of the person she wanted to forget. It was as if her body went on automatic pilot, taking her to her hometown and a few minutes later, to the location of her first job.

Peeking through the glass door, she scanned the area for Karen, the woman she often wished was her own mother. Debating on whether it was a good idea to go inside or not, the person behind her asked if she was going in. Not wanting to feel like a bigger fool than she already felt, she hesitantly stepped inside, releasing a sigh.

Relieved that Karen wasn't present, she ordered a cup of hot chocolate and a banana nut muffin to go. As much as Haley adored the woman, she didn't know how she would feel if she saw Karen, a painful reminder of Lucas. Taking a sip of the hot liquid as she walked out, she finally felt warmth rush through her cold body.

---

"Sorry Mom." Lucas shamefully looked down at his hands when his mother came back with a cup of coffee.

"You should be," Karen stated sternly as she handed him the mug.

Surprised by her reaction, Lucas looked up to see a smile across his mother's face. "Mom, how can you be teasing me at a time like this?"

"I'm sorry Lucas. I was trying to lighten the mood." Grinning wider, she added, "Besides, this is what you get for taking your anger out on your wonderful mother."

Rolling his eyes at her when she wasn't looking, he profusely apologized. "I said I was sorry. What more do you want?"

Shifting back to the motherly role, she hopefully replied, "For you to go talk to that girl of yours."

Baffled by her response for the second time, he quizzically glanced at her comforting hand on his arm.

"You obviously still care about her deeply, otherwise you wouldn't be so worked up about this." Pausing for effect, she continued, "I'm not telling you want you should or should not do. It's ultimately your life and you have to live it, but as your mother, I am entitled to give you suggestions. Forgive her Lucas. Let her in your life." She added in a matter-of-the-fact tone, "Sweetie, you deserve happiness and I think she has an affect on your well-being."

"And how do you know that?"

"The fact that you spent the last hour talking about her. Do you really want to live a life where you regret the fact that you _let_ her slip away."

Not knowing how to respond, he sat wordlessly.

---

Once again unsure of how she ended up where she was, she took a seat on the small bleacher. Looking at the place where everything began, her tears overcame her once more. Bringing her legs up, she wrapped her arms around them. Her head came crashing down on her knees as she sobbed uncontrollably. In a world of anguish, she didn't feel a pair of arms cradle her, providing the warmth and comfort she desperately sought…needed. Moments passed until the soothing shushing sound she imagined became all too real, the heat too scorching. Bringing her head up, she saw the intruder who invaded her personal space. Pushing him with all her might, he fell on the cold, hard concrete with a loud THUD.

Haley took this opportunity to escape, but he was too swift. Soon, he was by her side, pulling her toward him once again. Pounding her hands against his chest, she crumbled, ironically on the same spot she remembered hiding in when she was in high school. Clinching his shirt in her hand, he felt her unsettling coldness.

"Haley," he openly pleaded for her to listen. He didn't know why he was the one begging when it should have been the other way around, but there he was doing the thing he sworn to himself he would never do. She wasn't worth this ravage heartache. She wasn't, he tried to convince himself.

"Hales," tilting her chin toward him, he stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles before comforting her with his lips. Every time her large brown doe eye flickered sorrow, he succumbed to her beck and call. Here he was, the good guy in this relationship, allowing the one person who was able to steal his heart strip it once more. He couldn't come to terms with what he was doing. All he was able to acknowledge was that she possessed traits he never encountered before: compassion, genuine kindness, inner strength even she didn't know she had, and other qualities he couldn't finish listing in his lifetime. Putting all his soul into kissing her for the last time, he continued to hold her even after he finally broke the earth-shattering kiss. All he felt now was physical attraction towards her he advised himself.

Not allowing herself to think about the undeniable kiss, Haley took this opportunity to slap him hard across the face. "How…DARE you!" Haley's voice lacked the venom she sought. Shaking, she took a step back.

"How dare I?" He shook his head and started laughing uncontrollably.

"You heard what I said." Giving him a quizzical look, she inquired, "And why are you laughing? This isn't a joke. Maybe I should knock some sense into you."

"Oh, that's a good one. You're the one who lied to me straight to my face about who you are. So Miss James, I should be the one saying, how dare you," he stated in a cool, even tone while watching her react to his revelation.

Perplexed, she stood quietly in shock. Deep down, she knew that he would eventually discover her secret because the truth always comes out in the end, but she didn't assume it would be this soon.

"So what do you have to say for yourself?" Folding his arms, he unconsciously grinded his teeth.

"Don't turn this on me. You're the one who committed the greatest sin," she pointed her finger at him accusingly.

"What are you talking about?"

For a split second, Haley almost believed that he didn't have an inkling about what she was talking about. "Don't play Mr. Innocent because it won't work."

"Hales, I really don't know what you're talking about." He instantly regretted using his nickname for her. It brought back too many memories, including their most recent kiss.

"That you have a fiancée," she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Staring at her like she was a crazy person, he shouted, "What?"

"You're engaged. I can't believe you had the nerves to cheat on her and me. You are a no good, two timing-"

Seeing her raise her hand once more, Lucas grabbed it.

"Let go Luke."

"Not until I make you believe that that ridiculously story is a bunch of crap. Wait, is that why you ran away?"

"Yes," she replied meekly, trying to take in everything he said. He wasn't engaged. The truth was evident in his eyes.

Taking a seat on the ground, she covered her face with her hands. Rubbing her hands up and down, she wished this whole ordeal would just vanish. "Just go away Luke. I've caused you enough trouble ever since the day I met you."

Oddly enough, seeing how much he affected her made him want her even more, a forbidden desire he couldn't seem to control. "Believe me Haley, I tried and tried, but you are just too darn irresistible."

Giving him a look of disbelief, she waved her hand for him to return to his life that was probably perfect before she turned it upside down.

Taking her hands in his, he tried to convey his feelings to her and to himself. "Although I forgive you for lying to me, I don't think I'll ever be able to forget." Smiling at how his mother was able to read his feelings better than he could read his own, he continued, "I need you to clear something up for me though. Why would you lie to me about your true identity?"

"I honestly don't know," her voice quavered.

"There must have been a reason." He trapped her gaze, his stare intense.

Thinking hard, Haley thought hard about his question. "I guess I was scared."

"Of me?"

Nodding her head, she explained, "I walked into the office hoping that this secretary job would lead me to getting an editor position. I never expected to see the person I fell in love with in high school." She avoided his eye contact as she admitted to him her high school crush. "I know you must think I'm crazy for loving someone who didn't even know I existed, but I did. I thought I was over you. As embarrassing as this is to admit, especially to you of all people, it took years after we graduated from high school for me to get over you. But then a few years later, long and behold, you once again entered my life, or more accurately, I entered yours. Then all this feelings I thought I no longer had resurfaced. I now know that they just didn't disappear, but were repressed. It was actually right here on this spot that I fell in love with you. I was watching you befriend and encourage a little boy." She added in a whisper, "And this is all your fault Lucas."

"All my fault? What did I ever do to you besides being honest?" She couldn't think that he was guilty of anything.

"You made me fall in love with you." Seeing the smile play on his lips, she boldly laid the blame on him. "This all wouldn't have happened if you weren't so darn irresistible."

"Irresistible huh? Well in that case you should blame my mother. She helped me become the person I am today."

"I knew you would find a way to use your charm to get out of taking the blame."

"What about you?" he charged, shifting his stance.

"Me?" She gave him an innocent look.

Her unawareness of her own magnetism as a person stunned his senses. "You made me fall back in love with you a countless number of times."

She blinked, and he saw a shimmer of tears. "And what about now? Do you still love me after everything I put you through?" Holding her breath, she apprehensively waited for his answer.

"I don't know." He flashed her a roguish, seductive grin. "I think I need another kiss to answer that question."

Responding quickly to his demand, she wrapped her arms around him as she settled her lips on his.

_A/N: Thanks everyone for your continued support. I appreciate it more than I can ever express. The next chapter is going to be the last one._


	30. Unconditional Love

_A/N: Here's the final installment of this story. I'm sorry for the long wait. I finally found time to write it during my winter break. To be honest, I'm a little hesitant about posting it. I'm not sure if you all will think it's worth the wait, but I hope it is. _

Ch. 30

Haley, who was packing her belongings, welcomed the warm weather. She preferred the activities one can do during a hot day in summer than a chilly day in the winter. Although the large city was vacant of chirping birds, she smiled as she thought about her workday coming to an end. It meant she could spend the evening alone with the special person in her life.

"Haley, it looks like you're packing your belongings," Kevin stated in a puzzled voice as he interrupted Haley's joyous reverie.

"Yes I am," she constrained herself from making some remark to his harmless comment. He was being suspiciously civil for once in his life. The change of behavior chilled Haley to the spine and unsettling her nerves.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked slyly as if Haley had no right to do anything without his permission or approval.

"Not that I see it's any of your concern, but I'm leaving this company," Haley replied nonchalantly, placing a family picture in a cardboard box. "I handed my resignation two weeks ago."

"I see. It's a pity because I definitely enjoyed working with you. Your spunk and beauty was a refreshing change in a stuffy company like this one."

Pulling her auburn tresses behind her ear, she continued to remain pleasant toward the devil in front of her. Afraid that he would misinterpret her if she responded to the unwelcome compliment, she kept her mouth shut. As she picked up her pace while she continued to pack, she continued to wish he would go away as quietly and quickly as he came.

"I guess my charm has shocked you into being quiet, not that I'm surprised. I've been told by many that my charm is alluring."

Suppressing a laugh, Haley looked at him solemnly. Kevin, realizing that she was laughing inwardly at him was furious. "Why you little ! How dare you laugh at me!" Before Haley could respond, he continued, "Now I truly see the deceitful person you are. I'm so glad that I split you and Lucas up. His arrogance is sickening and of course you fell for his disgusting act. To think that I wasted all my intelligence in plotting to break the two of you up since the moment you batted your eyelashes for that good-for-nothing boss of yours. I felt a little guilty for dumping all my work on him, but now I know I will never feel at fault again. I'm going to enjoy making his life a living Hell and I'll find a way to do the same to you. I have connections as you know. My father is…"

"Larry Mason," finished Kevin's father.

Kevin's cruel eyes lost its fire and his speech faltered. "I…I was just teasing Haley Father."

"I knew that you weren't the son I'd hope you'd be, but I never thought I raised a deceitful, 'good-for-nothing' son. When your mother died when you were five, I didn't have the heart to discipline you for anything you did when you were growing up. I guess this is mostly my fault, but I did the best I could for you, son. My love has made me weak," admitted Larry Mason bitterly.

Avoiding the painful topic of losing his mother, he stammered, "Dad, you don't honestly believe that I was serious or could do those despicable things, could you?" Even Haley couldn't help feeling sorry for Kevin. He looked like a little kid who was just told that Santa Claus didn't exist.

"I have to do something I should have done in the very beginning."

Fearing for the worst, Kevin mustered the courage to question his father. "Wh – what do you have in mind?"

"I'm sending you to work for my friend as an errand boy. From now on, you need to earn everything for yourself. I hope this experience will make you a better person. I apologize for any harm I may have caused in your life because I never meant for things to turn out this way." Slumping forward like a defeated man, he slowly turned around. "Lucas, you can come out now." Lucas came out from his hidden spot while Kevin walked sulkily to his office to pack his belongings. "I'm sorry for all the trouble my son has caused you and Miss James. I'm more than happy to give you an editor position Miss James. Lucas here has showed me your work and I'm impressed. You have potential and I would be honored if you worked for my humble company."

Baffled by the offer, she kindly expressed her thoughts. "Thank you for the offer Mr. Mason, but I already accepted an editor position at another company."

"In that case, congratulation Miss James. I'm sure you'll accomplish all your dreams. I'm sad to see that Lucas here is leaving me also."

Haley and Lucas smiled at one another, happy that they each are going to pursue their dreams.

"Thank you Mr. Mason for everything."

"I hope you remember to give me a look at the first novel you write. I would love to be the person to discover a new talented, upcoming writer."

"You'll be the first person I send it to."

"Great!" he shook hands with Lucas and gave Haley's hand a kiss.

---

Several months had passed since Lucas' and Haley's last visit to Tree Hill, where they confessed their feelings for one another. They were showing each other their old hangouts and sharing high school memories. Talking about the past brought them back to the world where they both felt young and carefree. Holding hands like high school lovebirds, they laughed as they revealed their juvenile worries to one another that seemed so tragic and huge when they were in high school, but now seemed silly. A few moments later, they reached their final destination – the cherished spot where their story began.

Stopping to face Haley, Lucas took hold of Haley's other hand. Staring intensely into her chocolate orbs, Haley felt the heat rise to the small display of affection. Her pulse skipped a beat as she gazed lovingly back at him with twinkling eyes.

"Hales, you mean more to me than I can ever convey. Your unfailing, unconditional love has taught me that love is something worth fighting for, and I am glad that I won the battle. I don't know how I managed to live my life without you, but one thing is for sure, I can't see myself spending my life with anyone but you. I love you, Haley James and," Lucas pulled out a silver heart ring which gleamed in the sunlight as he continued his declaration of love. "I would be honored if you wear this promise ring. It's a promise that I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy as your boyfriend and in the future, if you'll have me, as your husband."

His speech brought tears to her eyes as she felt the pure bliss captivate her very soul at this perfect moment, highlighted by the ring that was created for her lender finger. Holding out her hand as he slipped the ring on her finger, she threw her arms around his neck, drawing him close to her. Her mutual feelings and admiration for her soul mate was expressed deeply when she captured his lips with hers as the sun began to set on the spot that was a sweet sentiment to their past, present, and future.

_Sadly, this is my last story I'm going to write. Who knows, I may be inspired to write something else in the future. Only time can tell._

_I want to express how much everyone's kind words means to me. Thank you for making my writing experience an unforgettable one. _


End file.
